The Ramayana

Valmiki · c. 400 BCE · Poem · Hindu · Ancient

Days before his coronation, Rama is exiled to the forest for fourteen years, and his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana go with him. Sita is carried off by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, and Rama raises an army of monkeys and bears to cross the sea after her. The Hindu world's model of duty, kingship and marriage, still performed and retold every year.

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Lineage

• ↓ The Mahabharata
  Vyasa (attrib.) · c. 400 BCE · Poem — parallels this
• ↓ Journey to the West
  Wu Cheng'en · 1592 CE · Novel — influenced by this
• ↓ The Cloud Messenger
  Kalidasa · c. 400 CE · Poem — alludes to this
• ↓ The Dynasty of Raghu
  Kalidasa · c. 400 CE · Poem — retells this
• ↓ Sri Ramayana Darshanam
  Kuvempu · 1949 CE · Poem — retells this

Attributes

Closest analogues

• The Odyssey
  Homer · c. 725 BCE · Poem

  57% · 18 shared
  PoemEpicAdventureExile & HomecomingLoyaltyAncientHeroHero's JourneyVoyage and ReturnCrossing the ThresholdRoad of TrialsReturn with the ElixirFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)Home / ReturnThe Journeyvs Fate / GodsEpicMythic
• The Aeneid
  Virgil · 19 BCE · Poem

  52% · 16 shared
  PoemEpicExile & HomecomingDuty & HonorHeroRuler / KingHero's JourneyVoyage and ReturnCall to AdventureFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)Home / ReturnThe JourneyFirevs Fate / GodsEpicMythic
• Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali
  Mande oral epic · c. 1250 CE · Poem

  52% · 16 shared
  PoemEpicExile & HomecomingDuty & HonorHeroRuler / KingHero's JourneyCall to AdventureRoad of TrialsReturn with the ElixirFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)Home / ReturnThe Journeyvs Fate / GodsEpicMythic
• The Guardian of the Word
  Camara Laye · 1978 CE · Novel

  52% · 15 shared
  EpicExile & HomecomingDuty & HonorHeroRuler / KingThe QuestCall to AdventureRoad of TrialsReturn with the ElixirFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)Home / ReturnThe Beastvs Fate / GodsEpicMythic
• The Lord of the Rings
  J.R.R. Tolkien · 1954 CE · Novel

  51% · 15 shared
  EpicAdventureGood vs EvilHeroThe QuestHero's JourneyCall to AdventureCrossing the ThresholdRoad of TrialsReturn with the ElixirFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)The Journeyvs SupernaturalEpicMythic
• The Epic of Gilgamesh
  Anonymous · c. 2100 BCE · Poem

  48% · 16 shared
  PoemEpicLoyaltyAncientHeroThe QuestHero's JourneyVoyage and ReturnCall to AdventureRoad of TrialsFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)The JourneyThe Beastvs Fate / GodsEpicMythic