पात्र

Characters

The people of the epic, drawn from Vālmīki.

• राम

  Rāma

  Eldest son of Daśaratha and Kausalyā. Vālmīki presents Rāma first as a man of conduct. Nārada's answer to the opening question is his name.

• लक्ष्मण

  Lakṣmaṇa

  Son of Sumitrā, Rāma's shadow. There is no Lakṣmaṇa-rekhā in Vālmīki. The line drawn round Sītā's hut comes from later retellings.

• भरत

  Bharata

  Son of Kaikeyī, the brother who refused a throne. He rages at his mother when he learns what she has done. Vālmīki gives him real anger.

• शत्रुघ्न

  Śatrughna

  Son of Sumitrā, twin of Lakṣmaṇa. Bharata's constant companion, and the brother who is given the Lavaṇa campaign in Uttara Kāṇḍa.

• दशरथ

  Daśaratha

  King of Ayodhyā, bound by his own promises. In Vālmīki the boy he killed by mistake is the son of an ascetic and is not named Śravaṇa. The name comes later.

• कौसल्या

  Kausalyā

  Chief queen of Daśaratha, mother of Rāma. Vālmīki gives her grief full voice. Daśaratha asks her forgiveness with folded hands.

• कैकेयी

  Kaikeyī

  Queen of Daśaratha, mother of Bharata. Vālmīki gives her full agency. Later retellings sometimes place the cause in divine intervention instead.

• सुमित्रा

  Sumitrā

  Queen of Daśaratha, mother of Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna. One of the most quoted blessings in the poem.

• मन्थरा

  Mantharā

  Maidservant of Kaikeyī. Vālmīki shows her working on Kaikeyī's fear for Bharata, step by step.

• सीता

  Sītā

  Daughter of Janaka, found in a furrow of the earth. Her voice is sharper in Vālmīki than in most retellings. She argues, rebukes and decides.

• ऊर्मिला

  Ūrmilā

  Daughter of Janaka, wife of Lakṣmaṇa. Vālmīki mentions her briefly. The story of her fourteen-year sleep comes from later tradition.

• जनक

  Janaka

  Sage-king of Videha. A king known for wisdom as much as rule.

• वाल्मीकि

  Vālmīki

  The first poet. The poet appears inside his own poem.

• विश्वामित्र

  Viśvāmitra

  King who became a brahmarṣi. Bāla Kāṇḍa tells his own long story of becoming a brahmarṣi.

• अगस्त्य

  Agastya

  The great sage of the south. He meets Rāma in the forest, and again before the last duel.

• अहल्या

  Ahalyā

  Wife of the sage Gautama. In Vālmīki she is not stone. She becomes visible again, and the princes touch her feet.

• परशुराम

  Paraśurāma

  Warrior-sage of the axe. The meeting of two avatāras, as the tradition reads it.

• शबरी

  Śabarī

  Ascetic disciple of the sage Mataṅga. The famous tasted berries are not in Vālmīki. She offers fruits she has gathered.

• गुह

  Guha

  King of the Niṣādas, friend of Rāma. A forest king whose loyalty is fierce and immediate.

• हनुमान्

  Hanumān

  Son of Vāyu, minister of Sugrīva. Jāmbavān has to remind him of his own strength before the leap.

• सुग्रीव

  Sugrīva

  Exiled vānara king. He forgets his promise during the rains, and Lakṣmaṇa comes to Kiṣkindhā in anger.

• वाली

  Vāli

  King of Kiṣkindhā, son of Indra. Vālmīki gives Vāli one of the strongest speeches in the epic, and Rāma a full reply.

• अङ्गद

  Aṅgada

  Son of Vāli, crown prince. He holds the southern gate in the siege.

• जाम्बवान्

  Jāmbavān

  King of the bears, the eldest counsel. The memory of the army.

• नल

  Nala

  Vānara builder, son of Viśvakarmā. The setu is still called Nala-setu in the poem.

• जटायु

  Jaṭāyu

  King of vultures, friend of Daśaratha. His brother Sampāti later tells the vānaras where Sītā is.

• सम्पाति

  Sampāti

  Elder brother of Jaṭāyu. His wings were burned long ago when he shielded Jaṭāyu from the sun. As he gives the news, they grow again.

• गरुड

  Garuḍa

  King of birds. The serpents flee at his coming.

• मातलि

  Mātali

  Charioteer of Indra. Indra sends his own charioteer only for the final duel.

• लवकुश

  Lava and Kuśa

  Twin sons of Rāma and Sītā. The poem is sung to its own hero by his sons.

• रावण

  Rāvaṇa

  Ten-headed king of Laṅkā, son of Viśravas. Vālmīki makes him learned, mighty and magnificent, and undone by desire.

• कुम्भकर्ण

  Kumbhakarṇa

  Giant brother of Rāvaṇa. Loyal to a brother he knows is in the wrong.

• इन्द्रजित्

  Indrajit

  Son of Rāvaṇa, conqueror of Indra. Also called Meghanāda. He fights from inside the clouds, invisible.

• विभीषण

  Vibhīṣaṇa

  Brother of Rāvaṇa who chose dharma. Rāma accepts him over his allies' objections, with a vow of refuge to all who ask.

• मन्दोदरी

  Mandodarī

  Chief queen of Rāvaṇa, daughter of Maya. Her lament is among the finest passages of grief in the poem.

• शूर्पणखा

  Śūrpaṇakhā

  Sister of Rāvaṇa. The spark of the war.

• मारीच

  Mārīca

  Rākṣasa who became the golden deer. He warns Rāvaṇa against the plan, then obeys.

• ताटका

  Tāṭakā

  Yakṣī turned man-eater, mother of Mārīca. Rāma hesitates to strike a woman. Viśvāmitra argues him into it.