Rama, Hindu deity worshiped throughout India as the seventh avatar of Vishnu,worshipped together with his wife Sita and devotee Hanuman. Rama is an idealized figure, a perfect king, warrior, and a husband. Lord Rama is seen as an ideal of Dharma and noble virtues. Rama is also known as Maryada Purushottam Ram because he is the epitome of righteousness.
Rama is the central figure of the Sanskrit epic poem the Ramayana and represents the ideal hero. The seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Rama is said to have taken birth on earth to annihilate the evil forces of the age. The life story of Rama and the main purpose of his incarnation (to destroy the demon king Ravana) is described in the great epic Ramayana. According to Ramayana, the gods ask Vishnu to incarnate in the world as a man in order to kill the demon Ravana, who was tormenting all the worlds. Ravana has a boonnthat he cannot be killed by any god or demon but in his arrogance he never imagined he can be killed by a human. Thus the avatar of Rama is arranged.
Rama is born to Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, and his wife Kaushalaya. Dasharatha had three wives namely, Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi.
Rama wins Sita, the epitome of purity, for his wife. His wife, Sita, an incarnation of the Goddess Lakshmi - consort of Shri Vishnu, exemplifies the ideal wife.
On the eve of their accession, they are denied to throne and sent to exile for fourteen years by King Dasharatha. As Kaikeyi wanted his son Bharat to be the future king of Ayodhya. In the past King Dasharatha had given Kaikeyi an unconditional promise to fulfill one of her demands. To fulfill his promise Dasharatha exiled his son Rama for fourteen years. Rama's wife Sita and brother Lakshmana follows him to the forest.
During the excile Sita is abducted by the demon King Ravana and taken to the island of Lanka. Rama's devotion leads him to spend many years in search of her. With the help of his monkey friends, which included his faithul and greatest devotee Hanuman, Rama killed demon Ravana in the battle and reunited with his wife. This day is celebrated as Vijayadashmi or Dussehra, as a victory of good over evil.
After fourteen years Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya and took charge of the kingdom. Diwali, the most famous festival of Hindus, is celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama after completing the exile. When he doubts her Sita's faithfulness, Sita passes a trial by fire. Rama puts dharma above his own interests, and banishes Sita. Although he know her to be pure.
Rama's sons Kusha and Lava were born in the forest in the Ashram of Valmiki. Later, they ended up in a war with Rama's troop and defeat them. When Rama realizes he has two sons, he wanted them and Sita to return to him. Sita prays to the earth to swallow her up, and Rama is left to mourn her loss until he offers himself to the god of death.
