Rama

Rama is the seventh avatar of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana, remembered as the ideal king and the keeper of dharma. He is shown as a dark-complexioned prince with a bow, usually beside Sita and Lakshmana, with Hanuman at his feet. Odisha has a long Rama tradition: Raghunathjew at Odagaon in Nayagarh district is a leading shrine, and Odia poets wrote the story in their own language. The great observance is Ramanavami on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, which at Odagaon is marked with a nine-day yatra.

The story of Rama is told in the Ramayana attributed to the sage Valmiki. Rama, the eldest son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya, accepted fourteen years of exile in the forest to honour his father's word. His wife Sita was carried away by Ravana, the king of Lanka, and Rama, with the help of his...