Rama's Family
Dasaratha
Dasharatha
दशरथ
- Doting Parent: Dasharatha had fervently prayed for sons. After his four sons were born, Dasharatha loved them all. The eldest, Rama was his favorite son. Turns out to be his fatal flaw. When the Sage Vishwamitra requested Dasharatha to send Rama with him, the king fainted from shock. Vashistha had to cajole him into doing so.
- Fatal Flaw: His excessive love for his eldest son Rama. After Rama was exiled, Dasharatha was unable to bear the seperstion and died of sorrow.
- The Fettered: A trope that applies to all the kings of the dynasty, even Rama. Vishwamitra was disappointed when Dasharatha was unwilling to send Rama, although Vashistha cajoled him. Dasharatha had to be a man of his word. He promised to grant two boons to Kaikeyi and very, very unwillingly had to fulfil it.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Dasharatha was once grieveously injured im the Asura war. His wife, Kaikeyi had nursed then nursed him to health. Dasharatha promised her to grant her two boons. Years later, Kaikeyi asks Dasharatha to exile Rama and crown Bharata as the king instead. This leads to Dasharatha's demise.
Kausalya
Kausalya
कौशल्या
One of Dasaratha's three wives, and Rama's mother. Kaikeyi
Kaikeyi
कैकेयी
One of Dasaratha's three wives, and Bharata's mother.- Action Girl: Used to be this prior to becoming a mother. She drove Dasharatha's battle chariot when the king went to fight the Asuras and nursed him back to health. Some legends say that during the battle, when the bolt securing Dasharatha's chariot wheel came loose, Kaikeyi put her finger and held the wheel in place while simultaneously retreating with Dasharatha.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Under bad counsel, Kaikeyi asks Dasharatha to exile Rama and make Bharata the king. Except Bharata had no desire to rule Ayodhya and was actually dejected by Rama's exile. Kaikeyi gets admonished by Bharata.
- Evil Stepmother: Played with. Kaikeyi actually liked Rama, but her servant Manthara poisoned her ears. Afraid that her son would be treated as a lackey of Rama, Kaikeyi decided to exile him. Comes to bite her back when Bharata condemned her actions.
- Mother Makes You King: She asked her husband to exile Rama and name her son as his successor instead. It backfired as Bharata had no wish to rule, and gave the crown back to his older brother as soon as it was possible.
- Tragic Villain: Rama sees her as a good person who fate is controlling to make sure he fulfils his incarnation's purpose. According to him, Kaikeyi went My God, What Have I Done? the minute he left Ayodhya (though the narrative doesn't confirm this, and Rama may be biased).
Sumitra
Sumitra
सुमित्रा
One of Dasaratha's three wives, and mother to the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Bharata
Bharata
भरत
Rama and Lakshmana's brother, the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi.The Vanaras
Literally meaning "Forest Dwellers" the Vanaras are a race of anthropomorphic monkeys capable of human speech. They usually live by the Laws of the Jungle. They are also allied with anthropomorphic bears.In Ramayana, they serve as the main allies of Rama, helping him in his quest to rescue Sita. They even declare war on Ravana and the Rakshasas and eventually emerge as the victors. They remain life long friends of Rama.
Sugriva
Sugriva
सुग्रीव
The son of Surya, the Sun God and the ruler of the Vanaras. He was the younger half-brother of Vali, the son of Indra, the Rain God. He was wrongfully banished from the tribe by Vali. With the help of Rama, Sugriva overthrows Vali and starts helping Rama- Always Identical Twins: Subverted. Vali and Sugriva are not twins and are of different fathers. Yet they look so alike that Rama asked Sugriva to wear a garland to distinguish between the two brothers.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Zig-Zagging Trope. While Sugriva fought Vali for the Vanara throne, Rama sneakily aimed an arrow and killed Vali.
Hanuman
Hanuman
हनुमान्
A kind and cheerful Vanara who first befriends Rama and Lakshmana. He is the son of Vayu, the Wind God and is Sugriva's best friend. It is later revealed that Hanuman has superpowers. From then on, Hanuman pretty much becomes a superhero, always helping Rama and Lakshmana when needed the most.- All-Loving Hero: Hanuman is extremely humble, caring and friendly.
- Breakout Character: The Ramayana has seven books in total. One of them — the Sundara Kanda — is entirely devoted to Hanuman's search for Sita. It pretty much consists of Hanuman defeating several sea monsters and Rakshasas and succeeds in locating Sita.
- Carry a Big Stick: Often portrayed with his trademark gada, or Indian mace. While not particularly long, the round head is the size of a basketball at the smallest.
- Celibate Hero: Hanuman was not interested in having relationships, so he swore an oath of eternal Brahmacharya. Averted in the versions in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, where he has a romance with the mermaid Suvannamaccha and conceives a son with her.
- Cultured Badass: Hanuman is an erudite scholar in the Vedas and other scriptures. He was a disciple of the god Surya. Hanuman spoke Sanskrit so eloquently that even Rama and Ravana were highly impressed. Hanuman was also a minister of Sugriva.
- Dating Catwoman: In the Thai versions in particular, he has a romance with Ravana's daughter, Suvannamaccha, after she becomes his opponent for a time. His wooing of her and explaining the reason for the war on her father spurs her to pull a Heel–Face Turn.
- Forgot About His Powers: When Hanuman was a child, he was blessed with many divine powers. He used to harass the sages out of childish exuberance. So the sages cursed him to forget about his powers. It was only after being reminded by the bear king, Jambavan that Hanuman recalled them.
- Humble Hero: An after effect of the curse. Hanuman is humble to a fault. He never told even Rama about himself. He even leaves the venue out of embarrassment when the Sage Agastya starts telling Hanuman's backstory to Rama.
- Monkey King Lite: Hanuman isn't the same as the Chinese Monkey King Sun Wukong, but you can see the similarities. Actually, this is an Inverted Trope, because some scholars think Sun Wukong may have been influenced by Hanuman, and Monkey King Lite is characters who were influenced by Sun Wukong. (Sun Wukong can be traced back to about 1000 years, and the Ramayana is even older.)
- Nice Guy: Hanuman is of a very amiable personality. Something even Rama and Sita appreciated very much.
- Story-Breaker Power: Hanuman is immune to even the Brahmastra, which is equivalent to a nuclear weapon. He can fly all the way from Lanka to the Himalayas, uproot entire mountains and return to Lanka with the entire mountain in just one night. He could very well have single-handedly rescued Sita, dealt with Vali, or even become the King of the Vanaras, with no one even coming close to opposing his power. However, being a kind and humble soul, as well as the honor of the affected parties (Rama, Sita and Sugriva) prevent Hanuman from doing it by himself.
- Superpower Lottery: As a child, Hanuman was blessed by the gods with Complete Immortality, shapeshifting, absolute invulnerability, super strength, perfect health and immunity from diseases, fire and drowning.
- World's Strongest Man: Hanuman is so strong that he can lift entire Himalayan mountains and fly all the way to Lanka in one night. His strength surpasses that of Kumbhakarna, Ravana's younger brother. He is even stronger than Vali.
Others
Vibhishana
Ravana's younger brother. He later defected to Rama.
- Cassandra Truth: He tried to warn his brother that warmongering would only bring trouble, but Ravana just said he was a coward.
- Defector from Decadence: Defects from Lanka to join Rama's cause when his family continues to dismiss his advice and act vile.
- Evil Will Fail: Vibhishana understands that this trope is a fundamental tenet of the universe the characters live in, even though his brother doesn't. His final plea to Ravana is basically, "Why won't you stop trying to kill yourself?!"
- The Good King: After he is crowned the emperor of Lanka at the end.
- Family Honor: The only reason he fought for Ravana as long as he did. Dharmic law says that family is family, even if they are tyrants and kidnappers.
- Foil: To Ravana.
- Ravana was more powerful but very evil. Whereas Vibhishana wasn't strong, but he had a natural understanding of Dharma (spiritual morality).
- Ravana was a fast learner in the Vedas and Shastras while Vibhishana was a slow learner. However, Vibhishana actually adhered to the teachings of the Vedas whereas Ravana broke them left and right.
- Ravana desired immortality but was denied by Brahma. Vibhishana wanted all the knowledge of Dharma. Brahma was so pleased that he made Vibhishina immortal as well as a freebie.
- Nice Guy: He was a good-natured person who did everything he could to help Rama rescue Sita. He tried to sophronize his family, but they dismissed his morality as weakness.
- Only Sane Man: Ravana's court had dozens of nobles and sages from across the land who all agreed (or were too afraid to say otherwise) that everything he did was right, including kidnapping someone else's wife. When Vibhishana told the truth, all they could think was that he was spoiling their party.
- Token Heroic Orc: In the race of Rakshasas, Vibhishana was the only one who acted like a civilized and upright man who adhered to the spiritual teachings of Brahma.
- Tragic Hero: He cannot save his brother. Only himself.
- The Wise Prince: Like Solomon, Vibhishana was offered anything he wanted by the gods, and he chose wisdom. It's mentioned that he learned the Vedas slowly — presumably because he was taking the time to fully contemplate them, unlike those who only cared about the letter of the law and not its spirit.
