Linda Q. Green
Punahou School
The Ramayana, An Enduring Tradition
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Very short version of the Ramayana

Rama was the son of a king and it was assumed that he would become the next king. A decision in the family rearranged the succession and Rama went to live in the forest for 14 years. He was accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother Laksman. While living in the forest, Sita sees a deer and asks Rama to get it for her. Rama and Laksman leave the forest home and leave Sita alone, with specific instructions to not talk to anyone.

In their absence, an old man comes to the door and asks for something to eat. Sita hesitates, but she feels sorry for him and offers him some food. The old man changes in to another form, kidnaps her, and he flies away with her. The captor is Ravana, who wants her for his wife in his palace in Lanka.

Rama and Laksman come back and are shocked to find Sita missing. They contact Hanuman, the monkey king, to ask for help in finding her. They get a report from a bird who saw the abduction and they learn that it was Ravana that took Sita. Hanuman enlists his troops, monkeys and bears, to go to find Sita.

Then Rama, Laksman, Hanuman and the monkeys go to South India, build a causeway to Lanka, and attack Ravana's palace. A fight ensues, and Rama is injured. An herb is needed to cure Rama, so Hanuman goes to the Himalayas to find it. He is confused and doesn't know which herb to bring, so he brings the whole top of the mountain.

Sita is saved from Ravana's palace. Rama is cool in welcoming her back as his wife because she has been in the home of another man. He asks her to prove her purity by sitting is a bonfire. She agrees, sits in the fire, and is unhurt, proving her faithfulness to Rama and her purity. They get back together and have twin sons.

This site was created by Linda Q. Green at the NEH Summer Institute "Literatures, Religions, and Arts of the Himalayan Region," held at the College of the Holy Cross, Summer 2011.