The Ramayana is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (Itihasas) of Hindu literature. It is attributed to the sage Valmiki. This is a list of important figures that appear in the epic.
A
Agastya: A rishi (sage). Son of sage Pulastya and brother of sage Vishrava. He was an uncle of Ravana. Agastya and his wife Lopamudra met Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana during their exile and gave them a divine bow and arrow. Ahalya: Wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of the gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (an avatar of Vishnu). Akampana: A maternal uncle of Ravana. He was one of ten sons of Sumali and Ketumathi. He also had four sisters. He was one of the survivors of the battle between Khara and Dushana along with Shurpanakha. After escaping the deadly carnage, he instigated Ravana to kidnap Sita, thus indirectly making him one of the masterminds behind the war. Later he was killed in the battle by Hanuman. Akshayakumara: Youngest son of Ravana and Mandodari. He was killed by Hanuman during the encounter in the Ashoka Vatika. Angada: A vanara and the son of Vali and Tara. Angada helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana. Añjanā: Mother of Hanuman. According to a version of the legend, was an apsara named Puñjikastalā, who was born on earth as a vanara princess and married Kesari, a vanara chief. In some Shaiva traditions, Vayu, the god of the wind, carried the divine power of Shiva to Anjana's womb, and thus Hanuman was born as an incarnation of Shiva. Atikaya: Son of Ravana and his second wife Dhanyamalini. He was killed by Lakshmana by the Brahmastra, after the advice given by Vayu at the behest of Indra, that an otherwise invincible armour of Brahma was granted to Atikaya, that could only be pierced by a Brahmastra, during the battle when Lakshmana struggled to kill Atikaya.
B Bharata: The second son of Dasharatha, born to Kaikeyi, and the younger half brother of Rama. He was married to Sita's cousin Mandavi with whom he had two children. Bhaskarna: King of Nisthal. Maternal Uncle of Ravana.
C Chandrabhaga: Wife of Janaka's younger brother Kushadhvaja. Chandrabhagha 's two daughters Mandavi and Shrutakirti were married to Rama's younger brothers Bharata and Shatrughna respectively.
D
Dasharatha: King of Ayodhya. He had three queens, Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra, and four sons: Rama, Bharata, and twins Lakshmana, Shatrughna. Dasharatha also had a daughter named Shanta. Once, Kaikeyi saved Dasharatha in a battle, and as a reward, she acquired two boons from her husband to be invoked at a later time. Manipulated by Manthara, she asked Dasharatha to make their son Bharata the crown prince and send Rama into exile for a period of fourteen years. Dasharatha died heartbroken after Rama went into exile. Devantaka: A son of Ravana who was described as a warrior with a machete as his weapon. He was killed by Hanuman in a duel. Dhanyamalini: The second wife of Ravana. Her origin is unknown but some stories refer to her as the daughter of Maya and sister of Mandodari. She was the mother of Atikaya. Dhumraksha: A maternal uncle of Ravana and one of ten sons of Sumali. He was killed by Hanuman. Dushana: A man-eating rakshasa. He is the twin brother of Khara, the younger male cousin of Ravana, and son of Kaikesi's sister Raka. They were demons who ruled the Dandaka Forest. After Lakshmana humiliated Shurpanakha by cutting off her nose and ears, Khara and Dushana went to war against Lakshmana and Rama. During this fight, Dushana was killed by Rama.A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology & Religion by John Dowson
G Ganga: A river goddess and the daughter of Himavan. Because of her incomparable beauty, she was given to the devas. At Bhagiratha's request, she assumed the form of a river and flowed down to the earth with the assistance of Shiva and became the river Ganga. Guha: The king of Śṛṅgiverapura, a nation of the Nishadas, and one of the allies of Rama. He helps the deity and his companions be ferried across the river Ganga during his exile.
H
Hanuman: A divine vanara companion and devotee of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central figures of the epic. He is a brahmachari (life long celibate) and one of the chiranjivis.
Hema: An apsara in Indra's court. When Mayasura visited Svarga, he saw and married her. They had two sons, Mayavi and Dundubhi, and a daughter named Mandodari. She later left them and returned to Svarga.
I Indrajit (Meghanada): The elder son of Ravana mothered by Mandodari and a prince of Lanka. In the epic, he is described to be a great warrior and master of illusions. he is also known as Indrari.
J Jambavan: The king of the bears. He was created by Brahma to assist Rama in his struggle against Ravana. Janaka: The king of Mithila and the father of Sita and Urmila. Jambumali: One of the eight sons of Lanka's commander-in-chief Prahasta. He was killed by Hanuman during the encounter in the Ashoka Vatika Jatayu: A divine bird and the younger son of Aruṇa. He was an old friend of Dasharatha (Rama's father). Jatayu's wings were lopped off and he was killed by Ravana when he tried to save Sita during her abduction.
K Kabandha: A gandharva, cursed by sage Shtulashira to become a repulsive demon with no head or neck but his mouth in the belly and a single fiery eye on the chest along extremely long arms. He was freed from the curse when his arms were sliced off by Rama and Lakshmana and he was cremated. (Nikasha, Malini, Sukeshi): A wife of sage Vishrava, and mother of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Shurpanakha. She was a daughter of the daitya king Sumali by his wife Ketumati/Ketumali. Her elder sisters, Raka and Pushpotkata, were also wives of Vishrava. Kaikeyi: The third and most favorable wife of King Dasharatha, and mother of Bharata. After she saved the life of Dasharatha in battle, he offered to grant anything she would ask of him. She later calls in this favour to have Bharata crowned king and Rama sent into the forest, manipulated by the words of her maid, Manthara. Kausalya: The mother of Rama and the first wife of King Dasharatha. Khara: man-eating rakshasa. He is the twin brother of Dushana, younger male cousin of Ravana, and son of Kaikasi's sister Raka. He was killed by Rama and Lakshmana when he attacked Rama after Shurpanakha's humiliation. After Lakshmana cut off Shurpanakha's nose and ears, Khara fought against Lakshmana and Rama. During this fight, Khara lost and was killed by Rama, who also killed his brothers Dushana and Trishiras.Khara's Death Kumbhakarna: The second son of Vishrava and Kaikasi. He was the younger brother of Ravana and the elder brother of Vibhishana and Shurpanakha. Despite his gigantic size and great appetite, he was described to be of good character and a great warrior in those times. When offered a boon by Brahma, he was tricked into asking for eternal sleep. A horrified Ravana, out of brotherly love, persuaded Brahma to amend the boon. Brahma mitigated the power of the boon by making Kumbhakarna sleep for six months and being awake for the rest six months of a year (in some versions, he is awake for one day out of the year). He was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita. Kusha: One of the two sons of Rama and Sita.
L
Lakshmana: The third son of King Dasharatha, and a half-brother of Rama. He was the twin brother of Shatrughna, both born to queen Sumitra. In some traditions, he is regarded to be an incarnation of Shesha. He was deeply devoted to his brother, whom he followed through many dangerous adventures and quests. He was married to Sita's younger sister, Urmila. He is stated to have guarded his brother Rama and Sita during their exile for fourteen years without sleeping . Lava: One of the two sons of Rama and Sita. He had a twin brother named Kusha, one of the youths to whom Valmiki taught the Ramayana. Lankini: A powerful demoness from the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana. Her name literally means "the woman of Lanka" as she was the female personification of the city itself and was the guardian to the doors of Lanka.
M Malyavan: A maternal granduncle of Ravana. He was one of three sons of Sukesha. He had two younger brothers named Sumali and Mali. Malyavan's wife was Sundari. He had seven sons - Vajramusthi, Virupaksha, Durmukha, Suptaghna, Yajnakopa, Matta, Unmatta, and a daughter named Anala. He was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita. Mandavi: The daughter of King Kushadhvaja and Queen Chandrabhaga. She was a cousin of Sita and Urmila. She also had a younger sister named Shrutakirti. Mandavi was married to Rama's brother Bharata. After the Ramayana, she became the queen of Gandhara and had two sons, Pushkala and Taksha, who founded Peshawar, then called Purushapura, and Takshashila, now called Taxila, respectively. Mandodari: The chief consort of Ravana. The epic describes her as beautiful, pious, and righteous. Mandodari was the daughter of Mayasura and an apsara named Hema. Mandodari bears two sons: Meghanada (Indrajit) and Akshayakumara. She was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita. Manthara: The maid of Kaikeyi. She is said to be hunch-backed, ugly and antagonistic in appearance. She manipulates Kaikeyi into fears that her position would be overshadowed by Kausalya after the coronation of Rama, persuading her mistress to invoke her boons and send Rama into his exile. Maricha: A rakshasa (demon) who plays a role in the kidnapping of Sita, Rama's wife, by assuming the form of a golden deer. His mother was Tataka and brother was Subahu, who were killed by Rama earlier in the story.
N
Nala: A vanara who helped Rama during his war with Ravana. He is credited as the engineer of the Rama Setu. He was a son of Vishvakarma, and the twin brother of Nila. Narantaka: A son of Ravana. He was killed by Angada. Nila: The commander-in-chief of the vanara army in Rama's battle against Ravana. Along with his twin brother Nala, he is also credited for constructing the Rama Setu. Nila is the son of Agni. Nirvani: A yakshini and niece of the yaksha king Suketu.
P Parashurama: The sixth avatar of Vishnu, present in the Ramayana in his conflict with Rama over Shiva's broken bow pinaka, and due to the vow he had made to kill Kshatriya kings. He challenged Rama to bend the bow of Vishnu, and when this was done, accepted that Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu and retired to his penance. Prahasta: A maternal uncle of Ravana and chief commander of Lanka's army. He was a son of Sumali and Ketumati. Pulastya: A great sage, one of the Saptarshis of Svayambhu Manvantara and the grandfather of Ravana.
R Rama: The protagonist of the epic. He is the seventh avatar of Vishnu. He was the son of King Dasharatha of the Kosala Kingdom and his senior wife, Kausalya. He is regarded to be the embodiment of justice and dharma. He marries Princess Sita of Mithila. The crux of the epic details his attempts to rescue her from Ravana's clutches at Lanka. Descendant of Harishchandra, Prithu, Bhagiratha, Trishanku through his father. Ravana: The rakshasa king of Lanka. He is the main antagonist of the epic. He was the son of Vishrava and Kaikashi. His kidnapping of Rama's wife Sita is the central event that sparked the conflict of the epic. Rishyasringa: A rishi (sage) presided over the sacrifice that King Dasharatha offered in order to get a son. He was married to Dasharatha's daughter Shanta.