Ramayana Trivia
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98 free Ramayana trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Oct 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 98 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
The first poet; some legends say Valmiki was once a robber before he turned to penance and became a sage.
Q 02Rama is regarded as an avatar of which Hindu god?
Vishnu
Vishnu, as his seventh avatar, born a man at the gods' bidding to put an end to the demon king Ravana.
Q 03Valmiki's Ramayana has about 24,000 couplets; which epic is roughly four times longer?
Mahabharata
Mahabharata, which even retells Rama's story in brief, while the Ramayana tells it at great length.
Q 04Which kanda, the Ramayana's first book, covers Rama's birth?
Bala Kanda
Bala Kanda, in which the sage Vishvamitra takes the young Rama away to kill the demons ruining his sacrifices.
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
Sarayu; Ayodhya on its banks counts among Hinduism's seven holiest cities because the epic places Rama's birth there.
Q 07Which of King Dasharatha's wives was the mother of Rama?
Kausalya
Kausalya, the eldest queen; after years without sons, Dasharatha held a fire sacrifice, and its offering let his wives bear four.
Q 08For how long was Rama exiled to the forest?
Fourteen years
Fourteen years: Queen Kaikeyi claimed boons Dasharatha owed her to have Rama exiled and her own son Bharata crowned.
Q 09Which maidservant poisoned Kaikeyi's mind and urged her to claim her two boons?
Manthara
Manthara, a hunchbacked maid, warned Kaikeyi that she and her son Bharata would be sidelined once Rama was crowned.
Q 10How did Rama win Sita at Mithila with Shiva's great bow?
Stringing it and breaking it
Stringing it and breaking it: many princes had failed even to string the bow before Rama bent it until it snapped.
Q 11How did King Janaka find Sita?
In the earth while ploughing a field
In the earth while ploughing a field: King Janaka was tilling the ground for a sacrifice, and he adopted the baby he found.
Q 12Lakshmana, who followed Rama into exile, is considered an incarnation of which serpent?
Shesha
Shesha, who came as Lakshmana, Rama's younger brother, and returned as Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna.
Q 13What did Bharata do when his mother won him Ayodhya's throne?
Ruled only as Rama's regent
Ruled only as Rama's regent: he set Rama's sandals on the throne and governed from Nandigram until his brother came home.
Q 21Where in Lanka did Hanuman find Sita imprisoned?
The Ashoka grove
The Ashoka grove, a garden of Ravana's palace, where Sita kept refusing his advances.
Q 22What did Ravana's court do to Hanuman after he was captured?
Set his tail on fire
Set his tail on fire, and Hanuman turned the burning tail on the city, setting Lanka ablaze.
Q 23Which vanara, a son of the architect god Vishvakarma, is credited as engineer of the causeway to Lanka?
Nala
Nala; the chain of shoals between India and Sri Lanka is still called Rama Setu, or Adam's Bridge.
Q 14Which demoness, Ravana's sister, lost her nose and ears to Lakshmana?
Shurpanakha
Shurpanakha, 'she whose nails are like winnowing fans', then turned to the demons Khara and Dushana for revenge.
Q 15Ravana lured Rama away from Sita using the demon Maricha disguised as what?
A golden deer
A golden deer: while Rama chased it and Lakshmana went to find him, Ravana carried Sita off to Lanka.
Q 16In what disguise did Ravana approach Sita's cottage to abduct her?
An ascetic seeking hospitality
An ascetic seeking hospitality; once Sita welcomed him, Ravana dropped the disguise and carried her off to Lanka.
Q 17Which creature tried to rescue Sita from Ravana and was mortally wounded?
Jatayu, a vulture
Jatayu, a vulture, was mortally wounded, and his brother Sampati later pointed the monkey search party toward Sita.
Q 18Rama helped Sugriva regain the throne of Kishkindha by killing which elder brother of his?
Vali
Vali, whose wife Tara warned him not to fight because Sugriva had Rama's backing.
Q 19Which book, called the heart of the epic, is devoted to Hanuman's leap to Lanka and his heroics there?
Sundara Kanda
Sundara Kanda; on the leap, Hanuman had to get past sea demonesses who tried to swallow him.
Q 20What token did Hanuman give Sita to prove that Rama was alive?
His signet ring
His signet ring; when Hanuman brought back news of where Sita was held, Rama marched his army on Lanka.
Q 24Which brother of Ravana defected to Rama's side and was installed as king of Lanka after the war?
Vibhishana
Vibhishana; a temple legend says Rama gave him the image of Ranganatha, which he set down at Srirangam on the Kaveri.
Q 25Unable to identify the herb that would heal Lakshmana, what did Hanuman do?
Carried the whole mountain back
Carried the whole mountain back, and its herbs healed not only Lakshmana but other fallen soldiers of Rama's army.
Q 26Ravana's brother Kumbhakarna was cursed to sleep for how long at a stretch?
Six months
Six months; the goddess Saraswati is said to have tied his tongue, so he asked Brahma for sleep instead of Indra's throne.
Q 27How many heads is the demon king Ravana usually shown with?
Ten
Ten, with twenty arms, and Rama's victory over him is what the festival of Dussehra celebrates.
Q 28Besides being a demon king, Ravana is described as a great scholar and a maestro of which instrument?
The veena
The veena; he is said to have played and sung to Shiva, and is credited with the hymn Shiva Tandava Stotra.
Q 29Ravana's flying chariot, the Pushpaka Vimana, was taken from which god, his half-brother?
Kubera
Kubera, whom Ravana had driven out of Lanka before seizing the chariot for himself.
Q 30How did Sita prove her purity after Ravana's defeat?
By passing through fire unharmed
By passing through fire unharmed, and only after that trial did Rama accept her back.