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Rama: the prince of the Ramayana and his temples
राम
Rama is the seventh avatar of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana: the prince of Ayodhya who keeps his father's word through fourteen years of exile and wins back his wife Sita from Ravana, king of Lanka. Many Hindus see in him the ideal man (maryada purushottama) and a model of dharmic life, and in Rama-centred traditions he is the Supreme Being himself. His birth, his victory and his homecoming are three of India's biggest festivals: Ram Navami, Dussehra and Diwali.
Story
Exiled for fourteen years, he crossed to Lanka with an army of monkeys to bring back Sita. In the north, Diwali's lamps celebrate his return to Ayodhya.
Family and companions
Festivals
Diwali✅ Symbols and iconography
Rama shares much with other forms of Vishnu, but a few signs are his alone.
- Bow and arrow — Two arms, the arrow in his right hand and the bow in his left. Many southern temples show him standing with a slight bend at the hip.
- Dark skin — He is painted black, blue or dark, usually in reddish clothes; the Ramayana itself describes him as dark-complexioned.
- The family group — Sita always on his right, Lakshmana on his left, both golden-yellow, and [Hanuman](/en/deities/hanuman/) nearby with folded hands. Bharata and Shatrughna sometimes join them.
- The name — Rama means "pleasing, delightful" in most Vedic texts, and "dark" in the Atharva Veda. Ramachandra, Raghunath and Ram are other forms of it.
The Ramayana in brief
In Valmiki's Ramayana, Rama is born to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya in Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala, with three half-brothers: Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. At the court of King Janaka of Mithila he strings Shiva's great bow, which no other prince could do, breaks it, and wins Janaka's daughter Sita.
Then Queen Kaikeyi, Bharata's mother, reminds Dasharatha of an old promise and demands that Rama be exiled for fourteen years. Rama insists that his father keep his word; Sita and Lakshmana go with him. Late in the exile, at Panchavati on the Godavari, Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, lures Rama away with a magical deer and carries Sita off. Searching for her, Rama allies with the monkey king Sugriva, whose minister [Hanuman](/en/deities/hanuman/) crosses the sea and finds her. The monkey army crosses to Lanka, Rama kills Ravana, and the three return to Ayodhya, where he is crowned.
What follows is told differently in different books: Sita's ordeal by fire, her later exile, the twin sons Lava and Kusha. The epic was retold many times, most famously by Tulsidas in the 16th-century Ramcharitmanas, in Awadhi, which is the version most of north India knows.
How he is worshipped
Rama is rarely worshipped alone: temples show the whole household, and the greetings Jai Shri Ram and Jai Siya Ram, the second naming Sita first, are heard at all of them. The Ramanandi order, founded by the 14th-century poet-saint Ramananda and today the largest Hindu monastic community, centres on him.
Repeating his name is a practice in itself. The name is treated as a taraka mantra, one that "carries across" the ocean of rebirth, and the thirteen-syllable Shri Ram jay Ram jay jay Ram shown on this page is chanted in kirtans across India. Each autumn, Ramlila troupes act out the story night after night before Dussehra, a tradition UNESCO listed as intangible heritage in 2008.
Rama temples
In most of them Rama stands with Sita and Lakshmana, and Hanuman is somewhere close.
On the portal
[Prem Mandir](/en/vrindavan/prem-mandir/) in Vrindavan enshrines Sita Ram beside Radha Krishna; at Delhi's [Jhandewalan Hanuman temple](/en/delhi/jhandewalan-hanuman-temple/) the giant Hanuman holds open his chest to show Rama and Sita.
Ayodhya
The Ram Mandir, consecrated in January 2024 on the site many Hindus hold to be his birthplace, and the Hanuman Garhi temple nearby.
Bhadrachalam, Tirupati, Hampi
Bhadrachalam on the Godavari in Telangana, called Dakshina Ayodhya, "the Ayodhya of the south"; the Kodandarama temple in Tirupati, built by the Cholas in the 10th century; and the Hazara Rama temple in Hampi's royal centre, called the Ramachandra temple in its inscriptions.
Nashik, Orchha and beyond
Kalaram, "the black Rama", in Nashik's Panchavati; Ram Raja in Orchha, where Rama is worshipped as a king with a sword and shield; the Raghunath temple in Jammu; and the oldest surviving Rama temple, Rajiva-locana at Rajim near Raipur, from the 7th century.
Festivals
His life runs through the calendar. [Ram Navami](/en/festivals/ram-navami/), the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra (March–April), is his birthday, kept with a fast until noon, the hour of his birth, and with the temple wedding of Rama and Sita at Bhadrachalam. [Dussehra](/en/festivals/dussehra/) marks his victory over Ravana, with effigies burned at dusk after the nights of Ramlila. [Diwali](/en/festivals/diwali/) in the north celebrates his return to Ayodhya with lamps. In Tamil Nadu, Panguni Uthiram (March–April) also commemorates the wedding of Rama and Sita.
❓ FAQ
Who is Lord Rama?
The seventh avatar of Vishnu, prince of Ayodhya and hero of the Ramayana, worshipped as the ideal man and king. In Rama-centred traditions he is the Supreme Being.
What is Lord Rama the god of?
Of dharma, right conduct: he is the model son, husband, brother and king, and his reign, Rama Rajya, became the benchmark of just rule.
Where was Rama born?
In Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala, according to the Ramayana. The Ram Mandir there stands on the site many Hindus hold to be his birthplace.
What is the Rama mantra?
The thirteen-syllable Shri Ram jay Ram jay jay Ram, sung in kirtans. The name Rama alone is treated as a mantra, and Hare Rama is part of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
Who is Rama's wife?
Sita, daughter of King Janaka of Mithila, held to be a form of Lakshmi. She always stands on Rama's right in temple images.