Ramayana Book Summary in English

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to a new episode of Great Books in 10 Minutes. By the end of this episode you will know all that you need about the Epic of Ramayana. It is believed that Ramayana was the first poem of the Sanskrit language. It is a beautiful tale of love, loyalty and faith that takes its readers to an exciting and enlightening journey. Written in 500 BC, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It is about 480,000 words which is four times the length of the Iliad. During the ages the heroes of Ramayana have been revered amongst the people of India and because it represents the teachings of the ancient Hindu sages it has shaped many of the beliefs of the Hindu religion. The main themes of the Ramayana are divinity, love, loyalty, heroism, resilience and sacrifice. Valmiki is known as the first poet of the Sanskrit literature. There are not many facts known about his life but the legends attributed to him are each like a great epic on their own. At first he was devoted to his family but during the long drought and for the sake of his hungry children he started robbing people that he found in the forest. One day when he was bathing in a stream he saw two cranes mating. The beauty of the scene and the happiness of the birds felt pleasing to him. Suddenly one of the birds got hit by an arrow and died right away. The other bird seeing its mate falling screamed in pain and died of shock. Outraged by what he had just witnessed Valmiki cried and composed what is believed to be the first poem of the Sanskrit language. Other legends mention that Valmiki heard a voice telling him that what he had just said was a poem and that he should abandon banditry and dedicate his life to poetry. Long ago in a country called Kozalas there was a fair king named Dasaratha. The king had three wives but none of them could bear a child for him. Worried for the future of his kingdom and hoping to have a true heir to his throne he performed a fire sacrifice to the god Vishnu. As a result his wives each gave birth to a boy. The older one was Rama then Bharata and Lakshmana. These three princes who were to a certain extent hosts to the essence of the supreme entity Vishnu were all revered in the kingdom but among them Rama soon found a special place in his father's heart. A few years passed and the boy became a young man. One day he heard a story about a girl named Sita in the neighboring kingdom of Janaka who was unparalleled in beauty. Sita's father had decided that whoever could lift and wield a heavy bow which was given to his ancestors by god Shiva himself could ask for Sita's hand in marriage. Rama who was now burning in desire to see Sita traveled to her country and asked for the bow. When they brought it to him he lifted the bow and wielded it with ease. Then he drew the string and the bow broke from his godlike strength. Rama then married Sita and returned with his wife to his country. Rama's father king Dasaratha who was old now chose Rama as his heir. The decision was welcomed by everyone and both the kingdom's assembly and the people supported him. On the night of the great celebration one of Dasaratha's wives claimed two boons that the king had granted her a long time ago. For the first one she demanded Rama to be exiled into a faraway land for 14 years while the succession passes to her son Bharata. Heartbroken by this betrayal and bound to his given word king Dasaratha agreed to his wife's demands. Rama accepted his father's decision with absolute obedience and prepared to leave the kingdom. When Rama asked Sita to stay and not follow him his devoted wife replied the forest where you dwell is better than the palace for me and the palace without you is a burning hell. So the prince accompanied by his wife and brother Lakshmana left their kingdom and set foot towards the unknown. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana traveled south and built their homes on the banks of a river. There they were visited by a demon named Sarpanka who was the sister to Ravana king of demons. She at first tried to seduce Rama but when he did not fall for her spell she tried to kill Sita out of jealousy. Lakshmana captured her before committing the murder and cut her nose and ears. When the news reached Ravana king of demons he plotted to ruin Rama by capturing Sita. He ordered one of his minions to take the form of a golden deer and appear before Sita. Mesmerized by the beauty of the deer Sita asked Rama to capture it for her. Rama followed the deer into the forest and left his brother Lakshmana to protect Sita. After a few hours Sita started hearing Rama's voice calling her name and asking for her help. Despite Lakshmana's opinion that the best course of action is to follow Rama's order and stay in put, Sita insisted that he must go out and look for him. Lakshmana agreed but before leaving he drew a line around their home and cast a spell that would stop anyone from getting in but allowed people to exit. When Lakshmana left Ravana appeared before Sita in the guise of an old man and tricked her to leave the cottage to help him. But when Sita stepped out of the boundary of the spell Ravana showed his true self and kidnapped her. Rama and Lakshmana heard about what happened to Sita from a vulture and they immediately moved to rescue her. During their search to locate Sita the two brothers find their way into the kingdom of monkeys and meet Hanuman the great hero of the apes. Rama found out that the monkeys were in the middle of a civil war and the false king named Vali had managed to take over and banish their rightful leader from their homeland. After helping the apes to reclaim their country Hanuman who later became Rama's greatest devotee assumed the gigantic form and took a huge the country of demons. He located Sita in a grove where she was being threatened by demons into marrying Ravana. Hanuman gave Rama's ring to Sita and offered to rescue her but Sita refused his help and said when Rama was not there to protect me the demon king kidnapped me and now when the demon king is not present here you are going to rescue me. Rama himself must come and avenge the insult for my abduction. When they received Sita's answer Rama and Lakshmana formed an army and moved to save her. When they arrived at the southern sea with the help of the apes they built a bridge and crossed the water into the land of demons. A massive battle ensued and Lakshmana got injured by a powerful weapon. To find the cure Hanuman traveled to Himalayas however no matter how much looked around he could not identify the one specific herb that he was looking for. So he morphed into his huge form again and carried the entire mountain with him. In the final battle between Rama and Ravana the prince shot a divine arrow that had the power of gods in it which hit Ravana in the heart and killed him. When Rama met his beloved Sita again she insisted on going through with the test of fire to prove her chastity and silence the rumors about her purity. A sacrificial altar was arranged and Sita jumped into the fire. After a few moments Agni lord of fire appeared in all his glory and raised Sita unharmed to the throne attesting to her innocence. Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman went back to Kozalas. Rama was coronated as the king and people rejoiced at his return. A few peaceful years followed until rumors concerning Sita's purity mostly spearheaded by one of Rama's ministers started to spread again. Spies informed Rama that people are now questioning his choice in making Sita his queen. Rama at first did not heed the rumors and resisted but when the pressure increased he doubted his queen and ordered Lakshmana to take Sita to a forest and leave her there. Sita found her way into an ashram or monastery and gave birth to Rama's two sons Lava and Kusha. After a few years the sage of that ashram suggested that Rama's sons should travel to their father's kingdom and tell the story behind Sita's life to the common folk. While facing many difficulties the two brothers found their way into their father's palace. Rama recognized them instantly as his sons and regretted his cruelty and reversed his order in regards to Sita. When the queen returned once again the rumors started brewing and the same complicit minister suggested another purity test. Outraged by the continuous accusations and heartbroken by the constant cruelty against her Sita begged mother earth Bhumi to rescue her from an unpleasant life. In a dramatic moment the earth split open and goddess Bhumi appeared before everyone. She testified to Sita's purity but this time announced that because she has suffered so much in her life while being faithful and innocent all the time Sita is now amongst the gods. Afterward Rama ruled for many years and built a prosperous country for his people and eventually he left this world with his brothers. In the afterlife he assumed his Vishnu form and joined Sita who was now in the form of goddess Lakshmi. Very well ladies and gentlemen we are at the end of this video. I hope you liked my summary of the Ramayana. Please consider subscribing to my channel and see you in the next episode.