Ramayan story in text – as per the television serial (no video)

UPDATE – videos removed

Part 1 (Duration 24:36)

Season 1 Ep. 01 —  King Dasrath and his army receive a tumultuous welcome in Ayodhya on their victory in a battle with neighbouring kingdom. Dasraths subjects hail him with cries of praise and adulation. His three queens express their relief and joy on his victorious return.

The triumphant soldiers are welcomed back by their families. Their wives apply auspicious Vermillion tilaks on the foreheads of the men as a mark of respect and celebration on their safe and successful return. Their children touch their feet respectfully.

King Dastrath is happy to see the reunion and observe the warmth of the soldiers families. He overhears a little boy telling his father that he too would like to go to the battlefield with his father to protect him. His parents hug him with pride. The child’s concern for his father touches a sensitive chord in Dasraths heart.

In his palace he muses over the child’s words. Daa
srath is in the ancestors room in the palace. He looks at the statues of his ancestors and his eyes turn moist as the thought gnaws him that he is childless and there is no son in his life to feel proud of him and take on the mantle of royal responsibilities. He wonders what would have happened had he been killed in the battle.I have no son to continue Raghuvansh lineage he tells the ancestors quietly in a choked voice. The three Queens enter the chamber and Dasrath shares his sad thoughts with them. Sage Vashisht arrives at this point and the all knowing sage tells Dasrath no to despair. He advises him to perform the putra Kamyeshti Yagya and tells him that only Rishi Shring will be able to perform the Yagya.

King Dasrath leaves for Rishi Shring ashram hopefully. He waits outside patiently as the Rishi is meditating inside. Two days and nights pass and Dasrath continues to wait in the conviction that the Rishi will listen to his plea. Finally he gets his audience with the Rishi. A divine voice has a
ddressed Rishi Shring and instructed him to perform the Putra Kameshthi Yagya in Dasrath’s palace.

Part 2 (Duration 25:24)

Season 1 Ep. 02 — The Putra Kameshthi Yagya is ceremoniously performed by Rishi Shring in Ayodhya in the palace of King Dasrath.

A Divya Prurush (a divine being) appears from the yagya with a bowl of kheer (sweetened milk) and offers it to king Dasrath. Rishi Shring orders Dasrath to accept the kheer and let his three queens have portions of it.

Dasrath obeys Rishi Shring. The three Queens partake of the kheer.

When queen Kaikeyi returns to her chamber, Manthra tells Kaikeyi that she should have not shared kheer with the other two queens. Kaikeyi tell her that her happiness is in the happiness of Kaushalya and Sumitra.

All the three queens are now in family way. They give birth to sons. While Kaushalya and Kaikeyi have one son each, Sumitra gives birth to twins. King Dashraths joy knows no bounds. He has four handsome sons now.

Dashraths subjects celebrate with joy in the streets of Ayodhya.

The naming ceremony in the palace is preside over by Vashisht, Kaushalyas son is named Ram, Kaikeyis son is named Bharat and Sumitras sons are called Lakshman and Shatrughan.

Guru Vashisht blesses them all.

Episode 3

(Duration 25:46) Season 1 Ep. 03

All the four kids are named and are appreciated by Gurudev. He is continuously singing songs of their praises & future & gives them lots of blessings. Dasrath plays with his kids & forgets all his worries. Even the Maharanis are pampering the kids, showering love on them them, taking utmost care of them. Gurudev informs that Ram will be loved the most by people round the globe & would be evrybody’s favourite. Manthra again tires to ignite the feeling of despair & hatred in Keikai, but again fails as Keikai loves Ram the most & forgets evrything when he is with her. Dashrath cannnot live without seeing ram, his day starts with Ram & does not end without Ram. Dasrath, Kaushalya, Sumitra & Keikai are playing with Ram in morning & suddenly he gets up on his own feet & starts walking. Everybody is surprised & on cloud nine. Keikai takes him in her arms & he addresses her as “MAA”, his first wo
rds are ” MAA” for Keikai. she loves him, kisses him, hugs him as she is very happy that Ram called her “MAA” first.

Episode

Season 1 Ep. 4 (Duration 25:51)

Dashrath is convinced that the sight of Rams face in the morning augurs well for him. Everything turns out right for him during the day.
Rams brothers also listen to him and follow his advice. When all four of them are in the mango orchard shooting down mangoes with their arrows, a quarrel ensues between Lakshman and Shatrughan over who has brought down more mangoes. Was it Bharats arrow or Rams arrow?
Ram intervenes and calms down his brothers. He tells them that the mangoes will be shared by all equally.
Manthra, the royal maid, continues her mischief. She is all for Bharat becoming king. She leads little Bharat to the Royal Court and points out to the throne saying that it will be his one day. Wide eyed with disbelief Bharat stares at her and says: No Ram bhaiya will be king.
Ram and his brothers want to meet the people of Ayodhya and be part of their happiness and sorrow. Dashrath asks Sumant to take them
to the city on the occasion of Vasant Panchami festival so that they can mix with common folk and be part of their festivities.
In the city Ram receives a tilak on his forehead from an old lady. He sees a boy crying as his grandfather is unwell. Ram goes to meet the ailing grandfather and promises to take care of the little boy, so that the old man can die peacefully. On his way back to the palace Ram asks Sumant about Death. What is Death? Do we all have to die? He asks at the end of this episode, the location shifts to Mithila, the kingdom of Janak Raja, where Sita is found as an infant in the earth.

Episode 5

Life becomes a celebration for Janak and Sunaina as also for the inhabitants of Mithila when Janak brings home a lovely baby girl he has found miraculously in the earth when he was ploughing the barren and arid fields. For days there has been no rain and the infant appears like a miracle in the parched earth.
Janak names her Sita in tribute to the earth (seet) she lay hidden in. She is the miracle child for Mithila. Suddenly there is rain and vegetation appears in the dry fields, rivers begin to fill up. Streams start gurgling, leaves appear on dried up branches of trees, the scent of blossoms fill the air. There is happiness and security everywhere as the people of Mithila celebrate the arrival of the girl child, Sita, in the palace of Janak Raja, ushering in prosperity and plenty.
Sita is everybodys darling. Her favorite haunt is the temple of Vishnu. Every day she strings flowers of all hues to make a garland for the idol of Vishnu. Then she does aarti, singing mellif
luously in her little voice. The Shiv Dhanush which is kept in the temple fascinates her.
In Ayodhya the boys are growing up fast. Manthra does everything for Bharat and she offers everything first to Bharat. But Bharat wont accept it till she has offered it to Ram and his twin brothers first.
When Rishi Yagyawalk visits Janak he learns from Janak that three more girls are born. Janaks brother has been blessed with three daughters, but where is Sita? he asks smilingly. Well, Sita is in the temple worshipping her idol, Maha Vishnu.
In Ayodhya, guru Vashisht tells Dashrath it is time to send his sons to the Gurukul. All princes have to go to gurukul to receive gyan, training in Martial Arts and gain proficiency in fine Arts.
Dashrath and the queens are sad on hearing this. How can they stay away from their dear sons? Vashisht tells Dashrath and the queens that they must bear the sorrow of parting from their sons because they will never be able to gain knowledge in the palace
as they have umpteen distractions in the palace. They have to be properly educated in order to be good rulers. They have to be readied in seven days to leave for the gurukul.
The queens are in tears, but they understand the need to send their sons to receive education and refinement, so essential for them to be ideal rulers.
The princes leave for gurukul leaving behind their tearful but will-wishing parent.

Episodes 6
Ram & his brothers are welcomed by the inmates of the gurukul which include other boys, animals and birds. Gurumata Arundhati takes charge of them like a mother.

In Dashraths palace in Ayodhya there is a void and silence without the playful princes. Kaushalya gives instructions to prepare food for Ram and his brothers forgetting that they are away.

In the gurukul the princes are homesick. They want to go home but Ram tells them that they have to complete their education and go home as worthy youth, prepared to take on the responsibility of running the kingdom. If they go back now, Ram tells Shatrughan, they will lose the respect and love of the people of Ayodhya. The gurukul shiksha begins for the princes of Ayodhya.

In mithila, Sita and her sisters are playing outside the temple. Sita goes to the Shiv Dhanush and places flowers on it. What have you done? screams Urmila. A royal guest is coming for Shiv Dhanush puja and you have done it before his arrival?

Sita smiles and tells Urmila not to worry. We will welcome the royal guest she says sweetly.
In a short while Raja Janak, Sunaina and the royal guest Raja Sudhanwa arrive. He looks at Sita. Raja Sudhanwa is a proud man. When the havan is completed, Raja Sudhanwa is asked to do the Shiv Dhanush puja. Raja Sudhanwa tells Janak Raja proudly that he will take the Dhanush to his kingdom and do the puja there. Everybody is shocked.

Raja Sudhanwa is clever. He has realized that the Shiv Dhanush has brought prosperity to mithila. He smiles and tries to pick up the Dhanush. To his surprise he cannot lift it. He tries and tries When he fails for the umpteenth time he gets angry and leaves in disgust. Janak is upset. He tells Sunaina that he has never made enemies till now. Sunaina comforts him saying all will be well as
Sita and her sisters are playing with a ball of flowers. The ball rolls under the Shiv Dhanush. The girls try to retrieve the ball in vain. Then, Sita picks up the Dhanush easily. Janak and Sunaina cant believe their eyes when they see Sita standing before them, holding up the Shiv Dhanush.

Season 1 Ep. 07 — (Rated: TV-Y) In the gurukul Guru Vashisth has begun to impart gyan to the princes. In mithila Raja Janak and Sunaina are happily watching Sita grow up into lovely lass. Sunaina says she has noticed that Sita has brought prosperity and well-being to mithila. Ever since they brought her home as an infant, there has been no scarcity of any sort in mithila. But she has a worry about Sita as she is growing up. Who will marry her?

Janak hasnt got over the Shiv Dhanush incident. He tells Sunaina that whoever is able to lift the Shiv Dhanush will be eligible to marry Sita. Sunaina agrees and says the lucky young man has surely taken birth somewhere already.

In Vashisths gurukul Ram picks up a dhanush and arms it accurately. Vashisht tells his pupils that it is important to know who, what and where the arm of the archer is. Whatever you do must be for the good of mankind he tells them.

In his ashram sage Vashwamitra is performing a yagya. Demons Mareech and Subahu are hovering in the sky, throwing bones and blood into the fire of the yagya and guffawing scornfully. Mareech and Subahu return to the darbar of Khar and Dooshan to inform them that they have successfully spoiled Vishwamitras yagya. In the ashram of Vishwamitra the rishis are crestfallen and they ask each other: is there no one who can safeguard us from such demons?

Ram and his brothers are learning the art of shastra and shastra from Guru Vashisht. With shastra they learn to use weapons to protect society and with shaastra they learn to show people the way to a good, honest life.

The princes are on horseback. As they ride, Shatrughan falls from his horse. Ram calls out Shatrughan
In the palace in Ayodhya the queens are doing aarti. Sumitra hears Rams cry and the aarti thaal falls from her hands. She tells Dashrath that she is scared. Something is wrong with her son. Dashrath assures her that alls well. Rishi Vashisht will take good care of her sons. He points out that though the thaal has fallen, the lamp is burning bright. Sumitra feels happy and comforted.

At night Shatrughan cant sleep. He asks Ram to sing a lori for him. All the children request Ram to sing. Just then a beautiful voice is heard singing a lori. It is Gurumata Arundhati who responds to the children longing for a lori. Guru Vashisht smiles with satisfaction.

Sita and her three sisters are standing before the idol of Vishnu. Sita is holding a gudda and guddi. She wants to get them married. One of the sisters asks Sita what kind of a husband she would like to have. Sita blushes and says shed want a husband like Vishnu. Janak and Sunaina overhear this.

Season 1 Ep. 08 — (Rated: TV-Y) In the Gurukul the boys Ram, Laxman, Bharat & Shatrughna have returned with the Bhiksha and they hand it over to Gurumata Arundhati who tells them now to take rest.
We have lots of work to do, the boy tells her.

If you do all the work then what will we do? she asks the boys.

You can shower love on us, the boys reply together.

Gurumata becomes emotional and she tells her husband Vashisht not to be over strict with them. Be a little soft on them, she tells the Rishi.

You take care of that side, being soft, Guru Vashisht tells his wife.

There is a very heavy storm in Ayodhya. People are trying to move to safer places. Dasrath asks Sumant to take care of the people and see that no one is harmed, when his three Queens come and say that they are worried about their sons. They plead with Raja Dasrath to send Sumanth and his men to get all the four Rajkumars back to Ayodhya. Dasrath tells them that their sons are with Gurudev Vashishth, who will take care of not only his four sons but all his students, even in a more perilous situation than a storm.
In the Gurukul Arundhati is too worried about Ram. Vashishth tells her that she should not be worry about Ram alone. She should be more of Gurumata than a mother. Guru Vashisth is trying to put them in more and more difficult situations so that they become stronger and are able to face any danger. He wants to make their foundation stronger, and the most important thing is that Ram has come into this world to free others from worries. So dont worry about him, he tells his wife.

As the storm recedes students start collecting Samidha. Vivaswan tries to take Laxmans Samidha and there is big argument. When Ram comes and offers his Samidha to Vivaswan, but Vivaswan refuses and he takes an axe to cut branches of a tree when vashishth stops him and says- Never cut a tree Samidha is a branch which falls from a tree on its own. It has not been cut by us. Trees are our friends; they give us shelter, fruits and so many useful things.

All the students are giving bath to cows. Vivaswan purposely throws water in such a way that it falls on Ram, Bharat, Laxman, Shatrughan dont like this and there is an argument when there is a scream from Acharya for help. They see a crocodile pulling Acharya away in the water. Everybody is helpless as there are no weapons but Ram runs to help Acharya. He holds the crocodile and tries to hit him, when he hears, Dont hit me from the crocodile. Acharya comes from under the artificial crocodile. Vashishth comes and tells Ram that it was a pariksha, a test which Ram has passed. Others were looking for weapons but Ram jumped into the water to save Acharya without caring for his life and he is very proud of him.

Vashishth wants to gift Ram the Astra Vidya. He can use the Astra Vidya whenever he is in any danger. He will not require any weapon. Guru Vashishth teaches him the Astra Vidya Mantra. Ram bows to him and Vashishth blesses him.

Season 1 Ep. 09 — (Rated: TV-Y) Arundhati lovingly serves dinner. Bharat says the food is delicious. He says it is like the food his mother cooks at home. Vivaswan shouts at Bharat saying there is only one mother for everybody. She is ones own mother. Vashisht stops Vivaswan from talking more.

When Vivaswan is out of the room, Guru Vashisht tells Ram that Vivaswan is good at heart. He has been a victim of circumstances. He lost his own mother and his father remarried.

Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra do aradhana of King Dashrath on Guru Purnima day. They seek his permission to go to Guru Vashishts ashram on the occasion to offer worship to Guru Vashisht. Actually they are longing to see their sons and it is a chance they dont want to miss on the pretext of offering puja to Guru Vashisht.

When they reach the ashram they are stopped from entering the Gurukul. Guru Vashisht tells them that the princes are well, doing extremely well in their education and at present have gone to seek bhiksha (alms) which is part of the education.

The queens are shocked.

Ram and his brothers are in front of a house asking for bhiksha. The householder sees God in Ram and he is in a state of bewilderment. How can God who feeds us all ask for bhiksha, he asks himself?

Back in the place the queens are unable to savour the food as they are haunted by the memory of their sons seeking bhiksha. Queen Kausalya has no appetite and Dashrath tries to feed her lovingly.

Manthra tells Kaikeyi in her chamber that Kausalya is trying to gain the sympathy of the King. She wants the king to make her son Ram, the King but I will see that she is not successful, Manthra keeps saying.

The river near thr gurukuli is flooded. The river water is hitting the wall near the gurukul. Viwasvan is looking at the flood and he feels it will make no difference to anybody if he died. No one loves me anyway, he tells himself.

Bharat comes quickly and tells Ram that everyone has come but Viwasvan has not. Even the cows are back, hw says. Ram says that he must inform gurudev.

Everyone including Vashisht goes in search of Viwasvan. They call out to him and they find him near the wall. Vashisht ask him what he was doing there. Viwasvan replies that there is a hole in the wall through which the water ass flowing into the gurukul, and he was plugging the hole with his finger so that the water did not enter the gurukul. He was not worried about his life but he wants to save the gurukul. Vashisht asks him to leave the wall and come to him, he tells Ram to take care of the hole with the help of other students. He embraces Viwasvan and tells him that he is very proud of him, because he has not only saved gurukul, but has helped the society, and he had no words to praise him. Ram, too, comes to him after taking care of the hole and embraces Viwasvan. There are tears of happiness in Viwasvans eyes and he feels very happy in Rams embrace.

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