ORIENTAL SERIES.

26* RAMAYANARAMA-SETU.
carried on by Rama and his monkey allies against Ravana, end-
ing in the destruction of the demon and the rescue of Slta, the
restoration of Raina to the throne of Ayodhya, his jealousy and
"banishment of Slta, her residence at the hermitage of Valmiki,
the birth of her twin sons Kusa and Lava, the father's discovery
and recognition of his children, the recall of Slta, the attesta-
tion of her innocence, her death, Rama's resolution to follow
her, and his translation to heaven.
The Ramayafia is divided into seven ka%?as or sections, and
contains about 50,000 lines. The last of the seven sections is
probably of later date than the rest of the work.
1. Bala-kiMa. The boyhood of Rama.
2. Ayodhya-karcda. The scenes at Ayodhya, and the banish-
ment of Rama by his father, King Dasa-ratha.
3. Araftya-kanda.
and the rape of Slta by Ravawa.
f
Forest section.' Rama's life in the forest,
4. Kishkindhya-ka?z^a. Rama's residence at Kishkindhya,
the capital of his monkey ally, King Su-griva.
5. Sundara-kafida. Beautiful section.' The marvellous passage
of the straits by Rama and his allies and their arrival in Ceylon.
6. Yuddha-kar^a. 'War section,' The war with Ravaraa,
his defeat and death, the recovery of Slta, the return to Ayodhya
and the coronation of Rama.
Lanka or Ceylon Kar^a.
This is sometimes called the
7. Uttara-kaT^a.
c
Later section.' Rama's life in Ayodhya,
his banishment of Slta, the birth of Ms two sons, his recognition
of them and of the innocence of his wife, their reunion, her
death, and his translation to heaven.
The writer or the compilers of the Ramayam had a high esti-
mate of its value, and it is still held in very great veneration.
A verse in the introduction says, " He who reads and repeats
this holy life-giving RamayaTia is liberated from all his sins and
exalted with all his posterity to the highest heaven;" and in
the second chapter Brahma is made to say, "As long as the
mountains and rivers shall continue on the surface of the earth,
so long shall the story of the Ramayawa be current in the world."
(For the age of the Ramayana, see p. 190.)
RAMA-GIRL 'The hill of Rama.' It stands a short dis-
tance north of Nagpur.
RAMA-SETIL '
Rama's bridge,' constructed for him by his