Rama

Rama is the hero of the Ramayana, the Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and probably composed in stages from around 300 BCE onward. He is the eldest son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya. Through a palace intrigue he is sent into fourteen years of forest exile, accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana.

In the forest, Sita is abducted by Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka. With the help of the monkey hero Hanuman and a monkey army, Rama crosses to Lanka, defeats Ravana, and recovers Sita. In the epic's sixth book he returns to Ayodhya aboard the Pushpaka, the flying car Ravana had taken from Kubera, and is crowned king.

Hindu tradition regards Rama as an avatar of the god Vishnu and as a model of righteous conduct (dharma). His story is retold across South and Southeast Asia and is performed every year in festivals such as Ramlila and Dussehra. Historians treat him as a figure of epic and religious tradition; there is no independent historical record of his life.