List of characters appearing in the Hindu epicRamayana
Ramayana characters - Rama and Sita enthroned, surrounded by sage Vashishtha and Rama's brothers Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatrughna. Hanuman seated at the feet of Rama
Ramayana is one of the two majorSanskrit ancientepics (Itihasas) ofHindu literature. It was composed by sageValmiki. This is a list of important figures that appear in the epic.
Agastya:Rishi (sage). Son of sagePulastya and brother of sageVishrava. He was an uncle of Ravana. Agastya and his wifeLopamudra met Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana during their exile and gave them a divine bow and arrow.[1]
Akampana: A a maternal uncle of Ravana. He was one of ten sons ofSumali and Ketumathi. He also had four sisters. He was one of the survivors of the battle betweenKhara andDushana along withShurpanakha. After escaping the deadly carnage, he instigatedRavana to kidnap Sita, thus indirectly making him one of the masterminds behind the war. Later he was killed in the battle byHanuman.
Angada: Avanara and the son ofVali andTara. Angada helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor,Ravana.
Añjanā: Mother of Hanuman. According to a version of the legend,Añjanā was anapsara namedPuñjikastalā, who was born on earth as avanara princess and marriedKesari, avanara chief. In someShaiva traditions,Vayu, the god of the wind, carried the divine power ofShiva to Anjana's womb, and thus Hanuman was born as an incarnation of Shiva.[2][3]
Atikaya: Son ofRavana and his second wifeDhanyamalini. He was killed byLakshmana by theBrahmastra, after the advice given by Vayu at the behest ofIndra, that an otherwise invincible armour ofBrahma was granted to Atikaya, that could only be pierced by a Brahmastra, during the battle when Lakshmana struggled to kill Atikaya.
Bharata: The second son of Dasharatha, born toKaikeyi, and the younger half brother ofRama. He was married to Sita's cousinMandavi with whom he had two children.
Chandrabhaga: Wife ofJanaka's younger brotherKushadhvaja. Chandrabhagha 's two daughters Mandavi andShrutakirti were married to Rama's younger brothersBharata andShatrughna respectively.
Rama and his brothers in the company of Raja Dashratha and his three queens.
Dasharatha: King ofAyodhya. He had three queens,Kaushalya,Kaikeyi andSumitra, and four sons:Rama,Bharata, and twinsLakshmana,Shatrughna. Dasharatha also had a daughter namedShanta. Once, Kaikeyi saved Dasharatha in a battle, and as a reward, she acquired two boons from her husband to be invoked at a later time. Manipulated byManthara, she asked Dasharatha to make their son Bharata the crown prince and send Rama into exile for a period of fourteen years. Dasharatha died heartbroken after Rama went into exile.
Devantaka: A son of Ravana who was described as a Warrior with a machete as his weapon.He was killed by Hanuman in a duel.
Dhanyamalini: The second wife ofRavana. Her origin is unknown but some stories refer to her as the daughter ofMaya and sister ofMandodari. She was the mother ofAtikaya.
Dhumraksha: A maternal uncle of Ravana and one of ten sons ofSumali. He was killed by Hanuman.
Dushana: A man-eatingrakshasa. He is the twin brother ofKhara, the younger male cousin of Ravana, and son of Kaikesi's sister Raka. They were demons who ruled theDandaka Forest. After Lakshmana humiliatedShurpanakha by cutting off her nose and ears, Khara and Dushana went to war against Lakshmana and Rama. During this fight, Dushana was killed by Rama.[4]
Ganga: River goddess and the daughter ofHimavan. Because of her incomparable beauty, she was given to thedevas. AtBhagiratha's request, she assumed the form of a river and flowed down to the earth with the assistance of Shiva and became the riverGanga.
Guha: The king of Śṛṅgiverapura, a nation of theNishadas, and one of the allies of Rama. He helps the deity and his companions be ferried across the river Ganga during his exile.
Hanuman: A divinevanara companion and devotee of the godRama. Hanuman is one of the central figures of the epic. He is abrahmachari (life long celibate) and one of thechiranjivis. In some versions of the epic, he is described as an avatar of Shiva.
Hema: Anapsara inIndra's court. WhenMayasura visitedSvarga, he saw and married her. They had two sons, Mayavi and Dundubhi, and a daughter namedMandodari. She later left them and returned to Svarga.
Indrajit (Meghanada): The elder son of Ravana mothered by Mandodari and a prince ofLanka. In the epic, he is described to be a great warrior and master of illusions. he is also known as Indraari.
Jambavan: The king of the bears. He was created by Brahma to assist Rama in his struggle against Ravana.
Janaka: The king of Mithila and the father of Sita and Urmila.
Jambumali: One of the eight sons of Lanka's commander-in-chiefPrahasta. He was killed byHanuman during the encounter in theAshoka Vatika
Jatayu: A divine bird and the younger son ofAruṇa. He was an old friend of Dasharatha (Rama's father). Jatayu's wings were lopped off and killed by Ravana when he tried to save Sita during her abduction.
Kabandha: A gandharva, cursed by sage Shtulashira to become a repulsive demon with no head or neck but his mouth in the belly and a single fiery eye on the chest along extremely long arms. He was freed from the curse when his arms were sliced of by Rama and Lakshman and when he was cremated.
Kaikasi (Nikasha, Malini, Sukeshi): A wife of sageVishrava, and mother ofRavana,Kumbhakarna,Vibhishana, andShurpanakha. She was a daughter of therakshasa king Sumali by his wife Ketumati/Ketumali.[5] Her elder sisters, Raka and Pushpotkata, were also wives of Vishrava.
Kaikeyi: The third and most favorable wife of KingDasharatha, and mother ofBharata. After she saved the life of Dasharatha in battle, he offered to grant anything she would ask of him. She later calls in this favour to have Bharata crowned king and Rama sent into the forest, manipulated by the words of her maid, Manthara.
Kausalya: The mother of Rama and the first consort of King Dasharatha. She is also described to be the king's favourite wife.
Khara: man-eatingrakshasa. He is the twin brother ofDushana, younger male cousin of Ravana, and son of Kaikesi's sister Raka. He was killed byRama andLakshmana when he attacked Rama afterShurpanakha's humiliation. After Lakshmana cut off Shurpanakha's nose and ears, Khara fought against Lakshmana and Rama. During this fight, Khara lost and was killed by Rama, who also killed his brothers Dushana andTrishiras.[6]
Kumbhakarna: The second son ofVishrava andKaikasi. He was the younger brother of Ravana and the elder brother of Vibhishana and Shurpanakha. Despite his gigantic size and great appetite, he was described to be of good character and a great warrior in those times. When offered a boon byBrahma, he was tricked into asking for eternal sleep. A horrified Ravana, out of brotherly love, persuaded Brahma to amend the boon. Brahma mitigated the power of the boon by making Kumbhakarna sleep for six months and being awake for the rest six months of a year (in some versions, he is awake for one day out of the year). He was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.
Lakshmana: The third son of KingDasharatha, and a half-brother of Rama. He was the twin brother ofShatrughna, both born to queen Sumitra. In some traditions, he is regarded to be an incarnation ofShesha. He was deeply devoted to his brother, whom he followed through many dangerous adventures and quests. He was married to Sita's younger sister,Urmila. He is stated to have guarded his brother Rama and Sita during their exile for fourteen years without sleeping .
Lava: one of the two sons of Rama and Sita. He had a twin brother named Kusha, one of the youths to whomValmiki taught theRamayana.
Malyavan: A maternal granduncle of Ravana. He was one of three sons of Sukesha. He had two younger brothers namedSumali and Mali. Malyavan's wife was Sundari. He had seven sons - Vajramusthi, Virupaksha, Durmukha, Suptaghna, Yajnakopa, Matta, Unmatta, and a daughter named Anala. He was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.
Mandavi: The daughter of King Kushadhvaja and Queen Chandrabhaga. She was a cousin of Sita andUrmila. She also had a younger sister namedShrutakirti. Mandavi was married to Rama's brother Bharata. After the Ramayana, she became the queen of Gandhara and had two sons, Pushkala and Taksha, who foundedPeshawar, then called Purushapura, andTakshashila, now called Taxila, respectively.
Mandodari: The chief consort of Ravana. The epic describes her as beautiful, pious, and righteous. Mandodari was the daughter ofMayasura and anapsara named Hema. Mandodari bears two sons: Meghanada (Indrajit) andAkshayakumara. She was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.
Manthara: Maid of Kaikeyi. She is said to be hunch-backed, ugly and antagonistic in appearance. She manipulates Kaikeyi into fears that her position would be overshadowed by Kausalya after the coronation of Rama, persuading her mistress to invoke her boons and send Rama into his exile.
Maricha: A rakshasa (demon) who plays a role in the kidnapping of Sita, Rama's wife, by assuming the form of a golden deer. His mother wasTataka and brother wasSubahu, who were killed by Rama earlier in the story.
Nala: A vanara who helped Rama during his war with Ravana. He is credited as the engineer of theRama Setu. He was a son ofVishvakarma, and the twin brother ofNila.[7]
Nila: The commander-in-chief of the vanara army in Rama's battle against Ravana. Along with his twin brotherNala, he is also credited for constructing the Rama Setu. Nila is the son ofAgni.
Parashurama: The sixth avatar of Vishnu, present in the Ramayana in his conflict withRama over Shiva's broken bowpinaka, and due to the vow he had made to kill Kshatriya kings. He challenged Rama to bend the bow of Vishnu, and when this was done, accepted that Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu and retired to his penance.[8]
Prahasta: A maternal uncle of Ravana and chief commander ofLanka's army. He was a son ofSumali and Ketumati.
Rama: The protagonist of the epic. He is an avatar ofVishnu. He was the son of KingDasharatha of theKosala Kingdom and his eldest consort,Kausalya. He is regarded to be the embodiment of justice anddharma. He marries Princess Sita of Mithila. The crux of the epic details his attempts to rescue her from Ravana's clutches at Lanka.
Ravana: Therakshasa king of Lanka. He is the main antagonist of the epic. He was the son ofVishrava andKaikashi. His kidnapping of Rama's wife Sita is the central event that sparked the conflict of the epic.
Rishyasringa: Arishi (sage) presided over the sacrifice that KingDasharatha offered in order to get a son. He was married to Dasharatha's daughter Shanta.
Rumā: The wife ofSugriva. She is mentioned in Book IV (Kishkindha Kanda) of the epic. Ruma and Sugriva fell in love with each other and wanted to marry each other. But Ruma's father did not approve. Hence, Sugriva with the help of Hanuman abducted Ruma and they married each other. Rumā was taken away from Sugriva by Vali following the strife of two royal vanara brothers. Later, the fact of Rumā being withheld by Vali became the primary justification ofRama's slayingVali and helping Sugriva to become the sovereign ofKishkindha. When accused by Vali of lowly, treacherous and unexpected assassination from the shades by Rama's arrow, Rāma says his assassination was a just punishment for the sin Vali committed when he robbed Sugriva of Rumā, his wedded spouse, and used her for his own pleasure.[9][10][11]
Sampati: A supporter of Rama. He was the brother ofJatayu and the son ofAruna. He traced Sita with his divine vision and informed Rama that Sita was in Lanka
Shanta: The daughter of a KingDasharatha and his elder consortKausalya. Later she was adopted by King Romapada of Anga. She was married to the sageRishyasringa.
Shabari: An elderly ascetic who was devoted to Rama. As her guru Matanga had instructed her to worship Rama, she waited for him for several years. Sabari finally met Rama after the abduction of Sita. She helped Rama to find Sugriva and Hanuman.
Shatrughna: The youngest son of King Dasharatha. He was born to queen Sumitra and was a twin brother of Lakshmana. He was married to Sita's cousinShrutakirti with whom he had two children.
Shiva: A part of theTrimurti, the supreme trinity in Hinduism, along withVishnu andBrahma. Both Rama and Ravana were great to devotees of Shiva. Some versions of the epic also describeHanuman as one of the avatars of Shiva. His wife isParvati.
Shurpanakha: The daughter ofVishrava and Kaikesi; and the younger sister of Ravana. She met Rama during one such visit to the forest ofPanchavati and was instantly smitten by his youthful good looks. Rama meanwhile kindly rejected her advances, telling her that he was faithful to his wife Sita and thus would never take another wife. Rejected, Shurpanakha then approached his younger brother, Lakshmana, who also rejected her, the humiliated and envious Shurpanakha attacked Sita but was thwarted by Lakshmana, who cut off her nose and ears and sent her back toLanka.
Sita inJain Ramayana. (left)
Sita: The principal female figure of the epic. The reincarnation ofVedavati, Sita was raised by KingJanaka of Mithila as his own daughter. She married Rama of Ayodhya and accompanied him on his exile. She is famed for her virtue and beauty and is regarded as anavatar of the goddess of prosperity,Lakshmi.
Subahu: Arakshasa. He and his mother,Tataka, took immense pleasure in harassing the munis of the jungle, especiallyVishvamitra, by disrupting theiryajnas with rains of flesh and blood.[13] Vishvamitra approachedDasharatha for help in getting rid of these pestilences. Dasharatha obliged by sending two of his sons, Rama and Lakshmana, to the forest with Vishvamitra, charging them to protect both the sage and hissacrificial fires.[citation needed] When Subahu andMaricha again attempted to rain flesh and blood on the sage's yajna, Subahu was killed by Rama.[14]
Sugriva: A vanara. He was the younger brother ofVali, whom he succeeded as ruler of thevanara the kingdom ofKishkindha.Rumā was his wife. He was the spiritual son ofSurya. Sugriva aided Rama in his quest to liberate his wife Sita from the captivity at the hands of Ravana.
Suketu: A yaksha who performed a yajna to get an heir, with the strength equal to thousand elephants. After the ritual, he got a daughter namedTataka.
Sumali: The son of rakshasa king Sukesa and gandharva princess Devavati.[15] He had two brothers Malyavana and Mali. Sumali was married to Ketumati with whom he had ten sons (Prahasta,Akampana, Vikata, Kalikamukha, Dhumraksha, Danda, Suprasva, Sanhradi, Praghasa, and Bhaskarna) and four daughters (Raka, Puspotkata, Kaikashi, Kumbhnashi). One of his daughters Kaikashi was married to sage Vishrava who later gave birth to Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Shurpanakha.
Sumantra: The prime minister in the court of Ayodhya. He was extremely loyal to the rulers of Ayodhya and was KingDasharatha's a most trusted minister. He knew many secrets about the royal family, including what he had heard from the conversation between King Dasharatha andDurvasa. He helped Rama in his exile.
Sumitra: The second consort of KingDasharatha of Ayodhya. She was the mother of the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Sunayana: The queen of Mithila, wife of King Janaka, and the mother of Sita and Urmila.
Tara: The wife of Vali, and the mother of Angada. She was the queen of Kishkindha and is regarded as one of thepanchakanyas.
Tataka: A beautiful woman who was transformed into a demon (rakshasa) once she tried to seduce thesageAgastya. As a demon, she used to drink the blood of living creatures and used to kill anything she sees. In one of Rama's great acts, he broke her curse by slaying her.
Trijata: A demoness who was assigned the duty of guarding Sita who was kidnapped by the king of Lanka. In later adaptions ofRamayana, she is described as the daughter of Vibhishana.
Trishira: A son of Ravana. He was killed by Hanuman.
Urmila: The younger daughter of King Janaka and queen Sunayana, and the younger sister of Sita. She married Lakshmana and had two sons, Angada and Chandraketu. In theGarga Samhita, she is stated to be an avatar ofNagalakshmi. Urmila slept continuously for fourteen years, so that her husband could protect Rama and Sita during the exile.
Vali: A vanara king ofKishkindha. He was a spiritual son ofIndra, the biological son of Vriksharaja, the elder brother ofSugriva, husband ofTara, and father ofAngada. He is slain by Rama.
Vibhishana: A younger brother of Ravana. Though arakshasa himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character. When Ravana kidnapped Sita, he advised Ravana to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion and promptly which Ravana refused sternly. When Ravana did not heed his advice and threw him out of the kingdom, Vibhishana deserted Ravana and joined Rama's army. Later, when Rama defeated Ravana, Rama crowned Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.
Vidyutjiva: A Danava and the husband of Ravana's sisterShurpanakha.
Vishrava: The son ofPulatsya, the brother of the sageAgastya and the grandson ofBrahma. His first wife wasIlavida with whom he had a son namedKubera. Later, he also married the rakshasa princessKaikasi with whom he had three sons (Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana) and a daughter (Shurpanakha).
Vishvamitra: Asage who was once a king. Through longmeditation, he gained a number of spiritual powers. He took Rama on a quest to defeat a demon and to lift the bow ofShiva.
^Pollet, Gilbert (January 1995).Indian Epic Values: Ramayana and Its Impact: Proceedings of the 8th International Ramayana Conference, Leuven, 6–8 July 1991 (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta). Peeters.ISBN978-90-6831-701-5.
^Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.).India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 68.
^A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology & Religion byJohn Dowson
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