50 Ramayana characters
Published in
4 min readNov 24, 2016
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- Ahalya: Wife of sage Gautama, who was turned into a stone and later became free from curse by the touch of Rama
- Bharata: Brother of Rama and son of Kaikeyi
- Dasharatha: Rama’s father and King of Kosala
- Dashanan: Ten headed King of Lanka a.k.a. Ravana
- Garuda: The mighty mythical raptor; King of winged creatures
- Gautama: Sage/Rishi who cursed her wife Ahalya and turned her into a stone for her immoral conduct
- Hanuman: Son of Pavana — the wind God; Devout of Rama and a leading warrior among the monkey tribe
- Indrajit: Ravana’s son who fought with Rama with magical powers
- Jambuvan: Leader of bears who found Sita with his supernatural powers
- Janaka: King of Mithila; Father of Sita, who found her in a furrow
- Jatayu: Great bird who was killed by Ravana while rescuing Sita
- Kaikeyi: Dashartha’s youngest queen and mother of Bharata who asked for Rama’s exile
- Kausalya: Dashratha’s queen and Rama’s mother
- Kevat: Boatman who let Rama, Laxman and Sita cross the river in his boat and washes Rama’s feet
- Khar: Brother of Ravana and Shurpanakha
- Kumbhkarna: Ravan’s brother known for sleeping and eating
- Kush: Son of Rama and Sita
- Laxman: Queen Sumitra’s son and Rama’s brother aka Lakshmana
- Lava or Luv: Son of Rama and Sita; brother of Kush
- Mandavi: Bharat’s wife & King Janak’s daughter
- Manthara: Maid servant of Keikeyi who convinced her for Bharat’s thorn and exile of Rama
- Maricha or Mareech: Who assumed form of suvarna mriga or golden deer and help abduct Sita
- Meghanad: Ravana’s son, who made Laxman unconscious in the battlefield with his arrow
- Nala: Son of great builder who helped Rama construct the famous bridge to Lanka
- Tataka: Demoness or rakshasi killed by Rama; mother of Mareecha
- Tulsidas: Sanskrit scholar and poet who created Ramacharitmanas, a version of Valmiki Ramayana in local Avadhi language
- Urmila: Laxman’s wife; daughter of King Janak and sister of Sita
- Vali or Bali: The mighty ape, cousin of Sugriva, who occupied Kiskindha and was killed by Rama
- Valmiki: The great poet and creator of Ramayana; Sage who helped Sita and her two son Lava-Kush stay at her ashrama
- Vanara: Monkey; The army led by Hanuman. A hill tribe of Southern India — according to the Ramayana
- Vasistha: Head priest or kul Guru of Ayodhya
- Vibhishana: Ravana’s brother who leaves Lanka to join Rama and later becomes the king of Lanka
- Vishnu: Lord of Preservation — part of the Hindu Trinity of Gods; Rama is considered the 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu
- Vishwamitra: Sage or rishi, who used Rama to kill troubling demons
- Rama: The main protagonist of the Ramayana — an avatar of Lord Vishnu; prince of Ayodha, son of King Dasharatha of Kosala
- Ravana: Ten headed King of Lanka, who abducted Sita; brother of Vibhishana and Surpanakha; father of Indrajit; husband of Mandodari
- Sampati: Brother of Jatayu
- Shatrughna: Rama’s younger brother
- Shabari: Devotee of Rama who offered him berries
- Shatananda: Head Priest or kul Guru of Mithila
- Shiva: The Lord of Destruction — part of the Hindu Trinity of Gods, whose bow was lifted by Rama in the swayamvar of Sita
- Shravan: Son of blind parents; known as an idol of service to parents
- Shrutkirti: Shatrughna’s wife and King Janak’s daughter
- Shurpanakha: Ravan’s sister whose ears and nose were cut by Laxman
- Sita: Daughter of Janaka and wife of Rama
- Sugriva: King of monkey tribe and King of Kiskindha
- Sumanta: Charioteer of King Dasharatha
- Sumitra: Wife of Dashratha; Mother of Laxman & Shatrughna
- Sunayana: Wife of King Janak; Mother of Sita
- Sushen: Lankan physician, who advised Sanjivani herbs from Kailas mountain in order to cure Laxman
Originally published on about.com
