رام چندر रामचन्द्र Rāma-chandra S n. prop. Son of Dasaratha, and conqueror of Lankā or Ceylon. He was the seventh avatār; when the deity descended for the purpose of destroying Rāvaṇa, who, having obtained (for his devo- tion) a promise from Brahmā that he should not suffer death by any of the usual means, was become the tyrant and pest of mankind. The Devatās came in the shape of monkeys, as Rāvaṇa had gained no promise of safety from them; hence, Hanumāna was Rāmaʼs general. Rāmachandraʼs motherʼs name was Kausalyā. His younger brother Bharata was son of Ke- kayī, who was the cause of Rāmaʼs going to the desert to perform devotions, on the banks of the Pampā nadī, insisting that her son should reign the fourteen years that Rāma em- ployed in the devotion. It was while performing his devotion (or during his stay in the fo- rests) in company with Laksh̤maṇa (his brother by Sumitrā) that, while he was absent hunting, Rāvaṇa appeared as a beggar, and enticed away Sītā; which gave rise to the war detailed in the Rāmāyaṇa. Sītā was daughter of Rājā Janaka, who had promised to give her to any person who could break a certain bow; which
