Introduction

Many years after his coronation, Rama was sitting on his throne when his ring fell off of his finger and through a hole in the ground down to the netherworld. Rama sent for Hanuman and instructed him to fetch his ring.

Upon going through the hole and into the netherworld, Hanuman saw several women. After laughing at how small a monkey Hanuman was, the woman captured him and placed him onto the platter of the King of Spirits. The King possessed quite the appetite for monkeys and other animals.

While Hanuman was away looking for the ring, Brahma and the sage Vasistha came to discuss important matters with Rama. To make sure no one walked in on their conversation, Rama directed Lakshmana to guard the door. While Lakshmana was standing guard, the sage Visvamitra came by and asked to see Rama at once. Lakshmana told the sage that he would have to wait until Rama came out of his important meeting to speak with him. Growing impatient, Visvamitra threatened to burn down the entire kingdom if Lakshmana did not alert Rama of his presence immediately. Lakshmana knew that the consequence of entering the throne room was death but he reasoned that it would be better for him to die than for the entire city to burn.

When Lakshmana entered, the conversation between Brahma, Vasistha, and Rama had already ended but Lakshmana knew that his violation of Rama's orders demanded punishment. Rama tried to reason that there was no need for a punishment, especially not one as harsh as death, because Lakshmana had not interrupted his conversation after all. Despite this Lakshmana knew that the subjects of the kingdom may feel differently if word of what happened spread throughout the kingdom. In order to make sure there was no blot on Rama's name, Lakshmana executed his own punishment as he walked directly into the river Sarayu until he disappeared.

After this, Rama put into action the plan he discussed with Brahma and Vasistha. He called together the kingdom to witness the coronation of his sons Lava and Kusa. Then, he too walked into the river Sarayu for his time to leave his body and rejoin the gods had come.

As Rama walked into the river, the woman in the netherworld finally brought Hanuman before the King of Spirits. Upon seeing the monkey, the King asked Hanuman to explain who he was and why he came. Hearing that Hanuman was in search of Rama's ring, the King of Spirits brought before him a platter full of rings. There must have been at least 3000 rings on the platter and they were all Rama's ring. The King of Spirits told Hanuman to pick out his master's ring but he could not recognize it so he left.

There have been as many Ramas as rings on the platter. Each time an incarnation was to come to an end, Rama's ring fell to the netherworld and the King of Spirits kept each one.

The conception of time in many Eastern cultures is cyclical in nature. The cycle of time suggests that all that has happened has happened before and will happen again. Accordingly, there have been many incarnations of Rama and for each there is a Ramayana. The story of the Ramayana has been told in a number of different languages, through a number of different mediums, and with a number of different plot points.

The idea behind this storybook is to explore the rich tradition of Ramayana storytelling by creating your own Ramayana. In each of the stories, you will be asked questions and presented with options that will allow you to choose your own adventure through the Ramayana. There are no wrong choices, simply different ones. Choose whatever ring you wish.

Bibliography: Story of the Ring adapted from Two Three Hundred Ramayana by A. K. Ramanujan