The Ramlila performances are dramatizations of the Ramayana. A vast and detailed story, the Ramayana is an epic poem originally composed in approximately 400 B.C.E. in Sanskrit by the poet Valmiki. For descriptive purposes, the Ramayana is often compared to The Iliad and individuals often refer to the Ramayana as the Indian Iliad and Valmiki has been referred to as “a Homer among the Vedic Aryans.”

The Sanskrit version of the Ramayana has over 50,000 lines of verse but receives little attention in current day India. Regional Ramlilas focus on the version of the Ramayana privileged by that area which in turn often relates to the dialect of the region. For example, Kamban recreated the Ramayana in the Tamil language during the eleventh century and this version guides the Ramlilas in Southern India. However, it is the Hindi version of the Ramayana composed by poet-saint Tulsīdās in approximately 1574 A.D., also referred to as the Ramcaritmanas, which guides the enactment of the Ramlila of Ramnagar as well as the Ramlilas throughout Northern India. No matter the language, each of the renderings relates the mythical story of the God Rama and his wife Sita.

The story begins in Ayodhya where King Dasharatha of the Raghu Dynasty ruled. In this world, the power of a promise was more important than life itself. King Dasharatha was well known and respected for his archery skills and one day while hunting, the King accidentally shot a young Brahman boy with an arrow who identified himself as Shravana. The young boy died in the arms of the King and when he returned the body of Shravana to his parents, the father, sick with grief, cursed the King and then died. The curse stipulated that the King would also one day feel the anguish of separation from a beloved son. Years passed and King Dasharatha prospered. He and his three wives, Kausalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi, lived a prosperous and happy life with only once concern – none of the wives had children. Eventually, after a significant amount of rituals and sacrifices were made, each of the wives became pregnant. Kausalya gave birth to Rama, Bharata was born to Kaikeyi, and Sumitra gave birth to twin boys Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Prince Rama was born to the eldest and most revered of the three queens and received special attention because of this. According to Hindu legend, Rama was actually the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu. However, no one had this knowledge other than a few wise men of the time; therefore, the people of Ayodhya only knew of Rama as a human prince .

When it came time for the princes to marry, King Janaka issued a challenge to all suitors. In order to marry his daughter Sita, considered by the King to be the most beautiful and pious of all his daughters, a suitor would have to break the bow of Shiva. Although many tried, including the most powerful king of all, Ravana of Lanka, Rama succeeded in breaking the bow thereby winning the contest and the hand of Sita in marriage. This success enraged Ravana  and he made a mental promise to himself that he would one day defeat Rama. Sita and Rama were married and King Dasharatha announced Rama would one day inherit the kingdom of Ayodhya. At this point, Manthara, the maid of Queen Kaikeyi convinced the queen that her son, Bharata should be king instead and reminded the Queen that the King had promised her two wishes in response to her brave actions in battle that had saved his life. The Queen agreed and told the King she wished for Bharata to be ruler of Ayodhya and Rama banished from the kingdom for fourteen years.

Convinced the curse was coming true, the King banished Rama into the forest although it caused him great pain and anguish. Rama accepted the banishment with honor and was accompanied into the forest by Sita and Lakshmana. When Bharata returned home from a journey and learned what had happened he became distraught and begged the King to tell him what to do. The King confessed he could not live without Rama and with dying words, the King requested Bharata go to the forest and bring back Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana so that the people of Ayodhya would not have to suffer the same misery as the King in being separated from the mighty Rama.

Although Bharata found Rama and begged him to return to Ayodhya, Rama refused to go back until the end of the fourteen years and Bharata returned home. One day, Ravana’s sister Shurpankha walked past Rama and Lakshmana in the forest. Using her magic powers, she  changed herself into a beautiful woman and approached Rama who declined but suggested she try his brother, Lakshmana. The two brothers continued to send Shurpankha back and forth between them until she got mad and revealed her true form. When Lakshmana realized what she had done, he cut her ears and her nose in anger which resulted in Rama and Lakshmana fighting Ravana’s demon brother army in the forest. Rama and Lakshmana prevailed and Ravana realized that Rama must be a God incarnation and vowed revenge.

Ravana worshipped Lord Shiva and felt confident because Lord Shiva promised him that no one other than the God had the power to kill him. Eventually, Ravana manages to kidnap Sita from Rama. The story continues through many trials and tribulations for Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana and the story turns to Rama’s interactions with the monkey King Sugreeva and the monkey Hanuman. The story continues with recitation of many adventures and battles between good and evil until Ravana’s defeat occurs at the hand of Rama. After rescuing Sita, Rama asked her for a sign that she was untouched by Ravana and after proving her innocence by walking through fire, Sita and Rama were reunited and the three of them returned in glory to Ayodhya where Rama became the rightful and just rule of Ayodhya. However, the story does not end there. As time passes, additional concerns regarding Sita and her devotion to Rama while she was a captive of Ravana begin again, and the fact that Sita is now pregnant adds to the dilemma. Rama orders Sita to submit to another trial by fire, but she refuses and Rama sends her away. After Sita gives birth to Rama’s twin-sons, Lava and Kusha, she decides she no longer wishes to live in this world and she prays to Mother Earth who responds by opening up and allowing Sita to disappear forever. Through all of this Rama also becomes disheartened and decides to leave the world and drowns himself in the river.

Although the story ends with the apparent deaths of Sita and Rama, legend holds that they both have the power to return and some even believe they never really died. Therefore, the annual performance of the Ramlila provides an opportunity for believers to watch and wait for their return.