The king Dasharatha of Ayodhya had four sons, born to his three wives; the boys’ names were Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna. When Rama was about 16, a wise man came to the court, asking for help against demons; he chose Rama to help him, and Rama’s half-brother Lakshmana came along to help. The boys received weapons and advice from the sage and they managed to destroy the demons. The sage then brought the boys to Mithila, where the king had a contest— whoever could handle his very heavy bow would win the right to marry Sita, a beautiful and virtuous girl. Rama won the contest and he and Sita were married in a great ceremony.
They returned to Ayodhya and lived happily for 12 years. Then, as the elderly king prepared to crown Rama as his successor, Bharata’s mother tried to claim the crown for her son. She reminded her husband that he had promised her a boon, and she claimed it—that Rama should be exiled into the forest for 14 years. The king kept his promise, Rama went into the forest out of respect for his father, and the griefstricken old king soon died. In spite of the hardships they would face, the devoted Sita and loyal Lakshmana joined Rama in his exile.
In the 13th year of the exile, an evil demon, Ravana, had one of his henchmen assume the form of a golden deer; it captivated Sita and she begged Rama to capture it for her. He went off, leaving his brother Lakshmana to protect his wife. Sita was deceived into thinking that Rama was calling for help, and she sent the reluctant Lakshmana to aid him.
Ravana, posing as an ascetic, then tricked Sita into leaving the safety of her cottage and carried her away to his island kingdom of Lanka.
In seeking Sita, Rama and Lakshmana met Hanuman, a great monkey hero. Hanuman made a huge leap across the ocean to Lanka, where he spied on Ravana and found the weeping Sita. He offered to rescue her, but she refused to go with him, saying that it is important to Rama’s honor that he rescue her himself. Hanuman then gave Sita Rama’s ring as a token and assured her that Rama would come himself to save her. Hanuman was captured, but he lectured Ravana on the need to release Sita; in return, Ravana punished Hanuman by setting his tail on fire. Hanuman escaped, in turn setting Ravana’s citadel on fire with his burning tail. He returned to Rama and told him what he had learned.
Rama and Lakshmana then enlisted the aid of the monkeys to help them rescue Sita. The monkeys built a floating bridge so that Rama and his soldiers could cross the ocean to Lanka. A great battle ensued, Rama killed Ravana, and Sita was overjoyed to be reunited with her husband.
When Rama returned to his kingdom after the allotted time of exile, he found that his brother Bharata had refused the crown. Instead, although he ruled the kingdom in his brother’s absence, Bharata kept a pair of Rama’s sandals on the throne to remind the people that Rama was the rightful king. Rama was crowned king and reigned over his people for many years of peace and prosperity.
Hanuman does not rescue Sita himself because Sita says Rama must do it himself to preserve his honor. What values does Sita’s statement reflect?