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Ramayana
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The demon king Ravana Painting of the poet Valmiki seated, holding a manuscript and teaching the Ramayana to Kusa and Lava, who sit attentively with another figure and two deer nearby. Eighteenth-century Indian painting showing Rama and Sita seated on a decorated bench, with Hanuman kneeling at their feet and Lakshmana standing nearby in a palace garden. Illustration of Lord Rama breaking Shiva's bow before King Janaka, Sita, and assembled courtiers at a palace temple. Basohli-style painting of Lord Rama's wedding, with the bride and groom beneath a canopy surrounded by richly dressed guests and musicians. Illustration of Ravana raising a sword as he abducts Sita, while the vulture Jatayu attacks overhead in a rocky landscape. Ceremonial textile depicting the Ramayana battle, with Rama's monkey and bear army fighting Ravana's demon forces amid large armed figures. Traditional Hindu painting of Sita seated amid flames during Agni Pariksha, with Rama, Lakshmana, and an attendant standing nearby. Rama's court Two performers in elaborate costumes enact a dramatic scene from the Ramayana; one wears a large ornate headpiece and painted face, the other wears a gold sari and expressive jewelry.
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Chandigarh. Statuettes at the Rock Garden of Chandigarh a sculpture park in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden. Created by Nek Chand Saini an Indian self taught artist. visionary artist, folk artist, environmental art
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Ganesha. Hinduism. Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, figure on external walls of a South Indian Temple in Kerala, India.
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The demon king Ravana
The demon king Ravana Ravana, the many-headed demon king, detail from a painting of the Ramayana, c. 1720; in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Ramayana

Indian epic
Also known as: “Rāmāyaṇa”, “Ramakien”
Written by
Tamanna Nangia
Tamanna Nangia is Associate Editor, Encyclopaedia Britannica. She has over five years of experience in editorial processes, handling many different aspects of the publishing process: content development,...
Tamanna NangiaAll
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Ramayana, shorter of the two great epic poems of India, the other being the Mahabharata. The Ramayana narrates the life story of the Hindu deity Rama, a prince of Ayodhya. Rama’s struggle to rescue his wife, Sita, after her abduction by the rakshasa (demon) king Ravana forms a central part of the epic. The Ramayana was composed in Sanskrit, probably in the middle centuries of the 1st millennium bce, by the poet Valmiki, according to...

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