[postlink]
https://ramayanonline.blogspot.com/2011/08/ramayan-1.html[/postlink]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lx1h3HzjnQendofvid
[starttext]
[starttext]
The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu smṛiti. The Ramayan consists of 24,000 verses in seven books (kāṇḍas) and 500 cantos (sargas), and tells the story of Ram (an incarnation of the Hindu preserver-god Vishnu), whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon king of Lanka, Ravan. Thematically, the epic explores the tenets of human existence and the concept of dharm. Verses in the Ramayan are written in a 32-syllable meter called anushtup. The Ramayana is not just an ordinary story: it contains the teachings of ancient Hindu sages and presents them in narrative allegory with philosophical and the devotional elements interspersed. The characters Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Bharat, Hanuman and Ravan are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India. There are other versions of the Ramayan,
[endtext]
[endtext]