Rama

Rama or Ram (Sanskrit, m., राम, rāma), also Ramachandra (रामचन्द्र rāmacandra), is the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, a Hindu god, according to the teachings of Hinduism. He is considered to be educated, handsome, and endowed with all the royal qualities. By his followers, Rama is worshipped as Brahman, that is, the transcendent, unchanging primordial force or world-soul into which the Atman transforms, which in turn signifies the dissolution of the individual soul. His story is told in the Indian heroic epic Ramayana.

Rama is the eldest of the four sons of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya. Prince Rama meets the beautiful Sita at the court of her father King Janaka, where he wins an archery match (with the bow of Shiva, which he is the only one who can draw). Rama marries Sita. At the insistence of his stepmother Kaikeyi, Rama is banished to the forest, where two people accompany him: his half-brother Lakshmana and his wife Sita. Dasharatha orders Rama to live in exile for fourteen years. In the wilderness of Gandaka, the two brothers help the hermits and saints living there who are threatened by Rakshasas led by Kharas. The demon king Ravana abducts Sita to Lanka after his sister Shurpanakha, rejected by Rama and mutilated by Lakshmana, alerts him to Sita's unique beauty. An essential aide to Rama in his search for his wife and in his fight against Ravana is the monkey god Hanuman. They learn the location where Sita is being held from Sampati. The monkeys build a bridge to Lanka, the Rama Setu, so that Rama can cross with an army.

In the Bhagavatapurana, another sacred scripture of Vishnuism, a summary of the events of the Ramayana can be found in 9.10 f.. Rama's birthday Ramnavami is an important festival of the Hindus. It falls on the 9th day of the waxing moon in the month of Chaitra (March/April).