The Ramayana Summary – The Deeds of Rama

Valmiki once was wandering through the forest along the bank of a river, when he noticed a pair of curlews hopping about on the grass, singing sweetly. Suddenly a hunter came along and killed the male bird with his arrow. As the bird was weltering in his blood and his mate mourning for him in pitiful tones, Valmiki was overcome with pity and pronounced a curse on the hunter. But the words of the curse left his mouth in the form of a shloka-verse. Then the god Brahma appeared and bade the poet sing of the deeds of Rama in this very meter.

The Ramayana Summary By Chapter

Bala Kanda – The Birth of Lord Rama and His Youth Age

In the land of the Kosalas (north of the Ganges), in the city of Ayodhya, there ruled a king named Dasharatha, who was mighty and wise, but still childless. The court advisor urged him to offer an imperial horse-sacrifice. The sage Rishyashringa, as the chief priest of this great sacrifice, includes an especially powerful offering rite that can cause the begetting of sons. When the offerings had been placed in the fire, the remnants were divided between the kings’ wives, who ate them. Just at that time, the gods in heaven were much troubled by Ravana, the ten-headed demon king of Lanka.

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