50 free Ramayana trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of Hinduism, roughly 24,000 verses telling how Prince Rama of Ayodhya was exiled for fourteen years, lost his wife Sita to the demon king Ravana, and won her back with the help of Hanuman and the vanaras. This quiz follows the whole story through its seven kandas and beyond: Valmiki and the first shloka, the broken bow at Mithila, Kaikeyi's two boons, the golden deer, Jatayu, Sugriva and Vali, the leap to Lanka, the bridge of the vanaras, Kumbhakarna's long sleep, the trial by fire and the return that Diwali still celebrates. It also covers the epic's afterlives, from Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas and the Thai Ramakien to Ramlila and the 2024 temple at Ayodhya. Easy questions ask who abducted Sita and what Hanuman set on fire; harder ones cover the meaning of Sita's name and which vanaras built the causeway. It suits students of Hinduism and world literature, families celebrating Diwali, and quiz nights that want a mythology round beyond Greece and Rome. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on the Ramayana and its characters, versions and festivals, and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Valmiki, the traditional author of the Ramayana, is revered by the title Adi Kavi, meaning what?
The first poet
Legend says he got his name from the anthill (valmika) that grew over him during years of penance.
Q 02Rama is regarded as which avatar of the god Vishnu?
The seventh
Vishnu chose to be born as a mortal specifically to defeat the demon king Ravana, whom the gods could not touch.
Q 03Roughly how many shlokas, or couplet verses, does Valmiki's Ramayana contain?
About 24,000
They are divided into seven kandas and about 500 sargas, making it one of the longest epic poems ever written.
Q 04Into how many kandas, or books, is the Ramayana divided?
Seven
Scholars regard books two to six as the oldest, with the Bala Kanda and Uttara Kanda considered later additions.
Q 05What does the name Ramayana literally mean?
Rama's journey
It joins Rama with ayana, "travel", by an internal sandhi that lengthens the shared vowel.
Q 06Ayodhya, Rama's capital in the kingdom of Kosala, stands on the banks of which river?
Sarayu
The city in modern Uttar Pradesh drew 110 million visitors in the first half of 2024, overtaking Varanasi.
Q 07How many wives did King Dasharatha have?
Three
Kausalya bore Rama, Kaikeyi bore Bharata, and Sumitra bore the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Q 08For how many years was Rama exiled to the forest?
Fourteen
The Buddhist Dasaratha Jataka shortens the exile to twelve years and moves the kingdom to Benares.
Q 09Which maidservant poisoned Kaikeyi's mind and urged her to claim her two boons?
Manthara
Kaikeyi had been happy about Rama's coronation until the hunchbacked maid intervened.
Q 10Rama won Sita's hand at Mithila by doing what with the great bow of Shiva?
Stringing it and breaking it
The bow, called Pinaka, had defeated every previous suitor at King Janaka's court.
Q 11How did King Janaka find Sita?
In the earth while ploughing a field
Her name derives from the Sanskrit for "furrow", and she is described as the daughter of Bhumi, the earth.
Q 12Lakshmana, who followed Rama into exile, is considered an incarnation of which serpent?
Shesha
Vishnu rests on that many-headed naga, and Lakshmana was married to Sita's sister Urmila.
Q 13What did Bharata do when he learned his mother had won him the throne?
Refused it and ruled only as regent for Rama
Q 21Where in Lanka did Hanuman find Sita imprisoned?
The Ashoka grove
Ravana and his rakshasis were wooing and threatening her there to make her marry him.
Q 22What did Ravana's court do to Hanuman after he was captured, prompting him to burn Lanka?
Set his tail on fire
He slipped his bonds, leapt across the rooftops spreading the flames, and jumped back across the sea.
Q 23Which two vanaras built the causeway to Lanka?
Nala and Nila
The natural chain of shoals between India and Sri Lanka, 48 km long, is still called Rama Setu or Adam's Bridge.
He lived in exile at Nandigram until Rama returned, governing on his brother's behalf.
Q 14Which demoness, Ravana's sister, lost her nose and ears to Lakshmana?
Shurpanakha
Her humiliation prompted her brothers Khara and Dushan to attack, and then Ravana himself to plot revenge.
Q 15Ravana lured Rama away from Sita using the demon Maricha disguised as what?
A golden deer
Sita begged Rama to catch it, and then sent Lakshmana after him when she heard what sounded like Rama's cry.
Q 16In what disguise did Ravana approach Sita's cottage to abduct her?
An ascetic seeking hospitality
Lakshmana had drawn a protective line and told her not to leave the cottage or entertain any stranger.
Q 17Which creature tried to rescue Sita from Ravana and was mortally wounded?
Jatayu, a vulture
His elder brother Sampati later told the search party that Sita had been taken to Lanka.
Q 18Rama helped Sugriva regain the throne of Kishkindha by killing which elder brother of his?
Vali
Vali's widow Tara later talked Sugriva into honouring his forgotten pledge to help find Sita.
Q 19Which book, called the heart of the epic, is devoted to Hanuman's leap to Lanka and his heroics there?
Sundara Kanda
On the way he refused rest on the mountain Mainaka and fought the guardian demoness Lankini at the city gate.
Q 20What token did Hanuman give Sita to prove that Rama was alive?
His signet ring
She gave him her comb in return, and insisted that Rama himself must come to rescue her.
Q 24Which brother of Ravana defected to Rama's side and was installed as king of Lanka after the war?
Vibhishana
Rama was so grateful that he gave him his own worshipped deity, Sri Ranganathaswamy, as a gift.
Q 25Unable to identify the sanjeevani herb that would save the wounded Lakshmana, what did Hanuman do?
Carried the whole mountain back to Lanka
Lakshmana had been struck down by a weapon hurled by Ravana's son Meghanada.
Q 26Ravana's brother Kumbhakarna was cursed to sleep for how long at a stretch?
Six months
Saraswati tied his tongue as he asked Brahma for a boon, and Ravana got the death-like sleep commuted to alternating half-years.
Q 27Ravana is usually depicted with how many heads?
Ten
He is sometimes shown with nine because he cut one off to convince Shiva of his devotion, and his name Dashanana means "ten-faced".
Q 28Besides being a demon king, Ravana is described as a great scholar and a maestro of which instrument?
The veena
He was also an ardent devotee of Shiva and is credited with the Shiva Tandava Stotra.
Q 29Ravana's flying chariot, the Pushpaka Vimana, was taken from which god of wealth, his half-brother?
Kubera
Rama returned the aerial palace to its rightful owner after the war.
Q 30How did Sita prove her purity after the war?
By entering a fire that left her unharmed
In Tulsidas's version she had been under Agni's protection all along, and it was an illusory Sita whom Ravana held.