Long ago, in the far-off land of Ayodhya, a boy was born. His name was Rama, the son of King Dasaratha. As he grew up, he met a young girl named Sita, and the first time he saw her, he was stunned by her beauty. It was love at first sight.
They ended up getting married in a big, elaborate ceremony. The person who married her had to bend a bow, but not only did Rama bend it, he also broke it. As the years went by, they had a happy life. King Dasaratha was getting old and wanted to choose his son Rama as his heir. However, his wife Kaikeyi asked that he appoint another son, Bharata, instead. Kaikeyi pleaded that he owed her two favors, and she felt that something bad would happen to her if he didn’t crown Bharata king and send Rama to the forest for fourteen years.
The king hesitated but eventually agreed, so Rama went with his beautiful wife Sita and his brother Laksmana, leaving their riches behind to live a simple life. In the forest, the three met the demoness Surpanakha, who fell in love with Rama. However, Rama didn’t pay attention to her advances, and Laksmana hurt her. She ran away to her brother Ravana, ruler of the island kingdom of Lanka. After hearing Surpanakha’s report of the beauty of Sita, Ravana decided that he wanted Sita as his own wife and changed himself into a wandering holy man to find her in the forest.
When Rama and Laksmana were not paying attention, Ravana carried Sita off to Lanka. Sita cried and wished for Rama in Ravana’s garden in Lanka, while Rama and Laksmana tried to get the help of Hanuman, the monkey king, to find her. Hanuman, able to make himself big or small, started his search for Sita by taking a giant step to the Island of Lanka. Carrying Rama’s ring, he found Sita and told her he was Rama’s messenger.
Sita was very happy, but Hanuman was caught, and Ravana set Hanuman’s tail on fire. Hanuman escaped and set the island of Lanka on fire. Rama, Laksmana, Hanuman, and his monkey army started a battle in Lanka. The monkeys made a bridge to Lanka by holding themselves together. The battle was a big, horrible battle with spears, bows, and arrows, and many people died. Eventually, Rama killed Ravana. However, when Rama found Sita, he wanted to know if she had stayed true to him. When he asked her to take the test by fire, she agreed. Proving her loyalty by remaining unscathed by the fire, she went back to Rama. Later, Rama abandoned her to maintain the sanctity of public opinion, and she went to live in the temple of Sage Valmiki and had twin sons Lava and Kusa, who as young men became reunited with their father, the god-king Rama.
