CHARACTERS

OF RAMAYANA
• Dasharatha is the king of Ayodhya . He has three queens, Kausalya,
Kaikeyi and Sumitra, and four son Ram, Bharata, Lakshmana and
Shatrughna. Dasharatha dies heartbroken after Rama goes into exile.

• Kausalya in the Indian Ramayana epic was the eldest wife of king
Dasharatha and a queen of Ayodhya. She was the daughter of the King of
the Dakshina Kosala Kingdom,and mother of Ram.

• Kaikayi in the Indian Ramayana epic was the second wife of king
Dasharatha . She was the daughter of  king Ashwapati which means lord
of horses , and mother of Bharat .

Sumitra in the Indian Ramayana epic was the third wife of king
•

Dasharatha . She was the mother of twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

She came from the ancient kingdom of Kashi. She was the wisest of the
wives of Dasaratha. She was the one to first realize that Rama was the
incarnation of Lord Narayana.
• Rama is one of the protagonists of the tale. Portrayed as the
seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, he is the eldest son of
Dasharatha— and his Chief Queen, Kausalya.
• Sita is another of the tale’s protagonists. She is King Janaka’s
daughter and Rama’s beloved wife.  Sita is the avatara of
goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. Sita is portrayed as the
epitome of female purity and virtue. She follows her husband
into exile and is abducted by the demon king Ravana. 
•  Lakshmana the younger brother of Rama, who chose to go
into exile with him. He is the son of King Dasaratha and Queen
Sumitra and twin of Shatrughna. Lakshmana is portrayed as an
avatar of the Shesha, the naga associated with the god Vishnu.
• Bharata is the son of Dasharatha and Queen Kaikeyi.
 Bharata rules Ayodhya as the regent of Rama for the next
fourteen years.
• Hanuman is the son of the wind god vayu and a vanari
woman.

• Jatayu is a powerful golden eagle who speaks in the

voice of a human beign. He dies defending sita from
Ravana.

• Sugriva is the rightful king of the vanaras, a race of

magical monkeys.

• Ravana is a rakshasa who performed penance for

the God siva for many years, and in return received a
great blessing from the God.
• Indrajit is the favourite son of Ravana, and his
most powerful warrior.
• Kumbhakarna is Ravana’s brother. He is a giant
with infinite strength who sleeps for six months at a
time before waking up and eating everything he can
see.
• Surpanakha is the sister of Ravana, she is a
powerful rakshasi.
• Vibhishana is the younger brother of Ravana. He
is wise and good. When Ravana refuses to listen to
his counsel, he joins Rama’s army.