Scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text range from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE, with later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE. It belongs to the genre of Itihasa, narratives of past events ( purāvṛtta), interspersed with teachings on the goals of human life. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses (mostly set in the Shloka/ Anustubh meter), divided into seven kāṇḍas, the first and the seventh being later additions. The Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi his travels across forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana – the king of Lanka, that resulted in war and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebration. The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya city in the kingdom of Kosala. There are many folk songs dedicated to Bharat in Indian languages, mostly in Malayalam.Rāmāyana ( / r ɑː ˈ m ɑː j ə n ə/ Sanskrit: रामायणम्, IAST: Rāmāyaṇam pronounced ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and important text of Hinduism, the other being the Mahābhārata. After 14 years, Ram was reunited with him and they went back to Ayodhya. There, he survived by eating only Kanda Mul and wearing the rough clothes of rishi munis or hermits. In the 14 years that followed, he went to Nandigrama (forest near Ayodhya) to pray to gods for his brother's safe arrival, living in austere conditions and leaving the amenities of the royal palace. He then placed the footwear on the royal seat of Ayodhya, thus laying clear the fact that Ram was the ruler of Ayodhya, and Bharat would only rule in his stead, for the time he wasn't there. When Ram refused to dishonor his father's word, Bharat asked for his sandals. On his death, Bharat along with the mothers and Shatrughna went to meet Ram and requested him to come back. As King Dasharatha lay on his death bed, he cried for his eldest son Ram. Due to the bond shared between the brothers, he became angry with his mother Kaikeyi, and her maid Manthara, who had sown the seeds of discord in Kaikeyi's mind. Bharat was visiting his maternal relatives, and on returning a few days later, heard the news of his elder brother's exile and his own crowning as the heir apparent. Once the order was officially announced, Ram went to exile with his wife Sita and younger brother Lakshman. Since the clan of Raghu (as the Ikshavaku clan is also called), was known for keeping their word, Dasharatha had no choice but to adhere to her wishes. Her second wish was to make her son Bharat, the second in line to the throne, the heir apparent. For her first boon, she asked for the exile or Vanvas of Ram for 14 years. When King Dasharatha arrived, she reminded him of the two wishes he had offered to her when she had saved his life in a battle. The Kopa Bhawan was a place where the wives of the ruling king could go when they felt neglected, to compel the king to come to visit her and hear her complaints. However, Bharat's mother Kaikeyi, before the crowning of Ram went into Kopa Bhawan.
Ram was in line to become the king of Ayodhya, as dictated by primogeniture policy followed in the Ikshvaku clan, which they belonged to. Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughna) were very close to each other.
Bharat faints during his father Dasratha's cremation Description Īccording to the Ramayan of Valmiki the four sons of King Dasharatha (i.e.