| Aditi | daughter of Dakṣa, wife of Kāśyapa, and mother of the gods |
| Agastya | famous sage, son of Mitra-Varuṇa and Urvaśī |
| Agni | god of fire |
| Ahalyā | wife of Gautama, cursed by her husband after she was seduced by the god Indra |
| Aikṣvāka | descendant of Ikṣvāku, used mainly of Daśaratha and Rāma |
| Amarāvatī | the city of the god Indra |
| Ambarīṣa | Early king of Ayodhyā and ancestor of Rāma. He buys Śunaḥśepa, son of Ṛcīka, to replace his sacrificial victim |
| Aṃśumant | Asamañja’s son, king of Ayodhyā after Sagara |
| Anaṅga | “bodiless,” an epithet of Kāma, god of love |
| Anasūyā | wife of the sage Atri, famous for her devotion and chastity |
| Aṅga | country where Romapāda ruled |
| Aṅgada | son of Vālin and general in Sugrīva’s army |
| apsarases | celestial maidens or nymphs, known for their beauty; frequently seen in the service of superior gods, especially Indra |
| Asamañja | Sagara’s eldest son |
| Aśoka grove | site of Sītā’s confinement in the city of Laṅkā |
| Aśvins | twin deities of the vedic pantheon renowned for their beauty |
| asuras | a class of demons, the elder brothers of the gods |
| Ayodhyā | capital city of the Ikṣvākus |
| Bala | demon slain by Indra. “Slayer of Bala” is a common epithet of Indra |
| Bali | Bali Vairocana, king of the asuras |
| Bhagīratha | son of Dilīpa and great-great-grandson of Sagara |
| Bhāgīrathī | epithet of the Ganges |
| Bharata | Daśaratha’s second son by Kaikeyī |
| Bharadvāja | a sage who tells Rāma how to reach Mt. Citrakūṭa |
| Bharadvāja | a young disciple of Vālmīki |
| Bhārgava | name of a powerful brahman family descended from the sage Bhṛgu. As a patronymic, it can refer to any descendant of that family |
| Bhava | epithet of Śiva |
| Bhṛgu | a great brahman sage, patriarch of the Bhārgava family |
| Bibhīṣaṇa | a variant of the name Vibhīṣaṇa |
| Bindu | lake into which Śiva released the river Ganges |
| Brahma(n) | a name for the Indian religio-philosophical concept of the impersonal and attributeless absolute principle underlying existence |
| Brahmā | the creator divinity of the Hindu “trinity” who is regarded as the “Grand-father” of all living creatures |
| Brahmadatta | a king, son of Cūlin, who marries the daughters of Kuśanābha |
| Citrakūṭa | mountain ‘where Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa first live during their exile |
| Cūlin | a sage, father of Brahmadatta |
| daityas | a class of demons descended from Diti |
| Dakṣa | one of the ten mind-born sons of Brahmā: he is said to have had many daughters |
| dānavas | a class of demons descended from Danu |
| Daṇḍaka forest | the forest where Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa spend part of their exile |
| Daśaratha | Rāma’s father and king of Ayodhyā |
| Dāśarathi | any descendant of Daśaratha, used of Daśaratha’s four sons, especially Rāma |
| Diti | name of a goddess, mother of the demons known as daityas |
| Dundubhi | name of a demon slain by Vālin. Rāma kicks the corpse of Dundubhi to demonstrate his strength to Sugrīva |
| Dūṣaṇa | a general in Khara’s army in Janasthāna |
| Gādhi | son of Kuśanābha and father of Viśvāmitra and his elder sister Satyavatī |
| gandharvas | a class of semi-divine beings known for their musical abilities. Gandharva women are noted for their beauty |
| Ganges | a famous and important river of ancient and modern India, which is personified as the daughter of Mt. Himalaya. She is the sister of Pārvatī |
| Garuḍa | name of the king of the birds. Brother of Sumati, Sagara’s younger wife. Viṣṇu’s mount |
| Gautama | a sage, husband of Ahalyā and father of Śatānanda |
| Ghrtācī | an apsaras who is the mother of Kuśanābha’s one hundred daughters |
| Guha | king of the Niṣādas and lord of Śrṅgavera; an ally of Rāma. who assists him during his exile |
| Haimavatī | daughter of Himavant (Himalaya), epithet of Umā or her sister, the river Ganges |
| Hanumān | Rāma’s monkey companion who aids in the finding of Sītā and the destruction of the demon king Rāvaṇa |
| Hara | epithet of Śiva |
| Himalaya | name of a mountain range and king of the mountains. He has two daughters: Siva, the wife of Śiva, and the river Ganges |
| Himavant | variant of Himalaya |
| Ikṣvāku | family name of the royal house of Ayodhyā |
| Indra | king of the gods who leads their hosts into battle against the asuras: in the postvedic tradition he is particularly noted for his incontinence and adultery |
| Indrajit | epithet of Meghanāda, son of Rāvaṇa |
| Jāhnavī | epithet of the Ganges |
| Jāmadagnya | see Rāma Jāmadagnya |
| Jambudvīpa | the Indian subcontinent |
| Janaka | lord of Mithilā and the father of Sītā |
| Jānakī | epithet of Sītā, daughter of Janaka and wife of Rāma |
| Janasthāna | part of the Daṇḍaka forest and residence of Śūrpaṇakhā, sister of Rāvaṇa, and her brother Khara |
| Jaṭāyus | a vulture, friend of Daśaratha |
| Jayā | daughter of Dakṣa, wife of Brahmā, and mother of the divine weapons |
| Kabandha | name of a rākṣasa slain by Rāma |
| Kaikeyī | younger wife of Daśaratha and mother of Bharata |
| Kailāsa | mountain peak in the Himalayas where Śiva and Pārvatī are traditionally said to reside. Kubera, the lord of wealth, is also said to reside there |
| Kākutstha | descendant of Kakutstha, a common epithet of princes of the Ikṣvāku dynasty, especially Rāma and his brothers |
| Kāla | time incarnate, name of the god of death |
| Kāma | god of love |
| Kandarpa | epithet of Kāma |
| Kapila | a sage who burns the sixty thousand sons of Sagara for disturbing his penances |
| Kārtikeya | son born from Śiva’s semen; his step-mothers were the Kṛttikās, the Pleiades |
| Kāśyapa | Mārīca Kāśyapa, name of a famous sage, husband of Diti and Aditi |
| Kāśyapa | father of Vibhāṇḍaka, grandfather of Ṛśyaśṛṅga |
| Kausalyā | senior wife of Daśaratha. mother of Rāma |
| Kauśika | any descendant of Kuśa, generally used in reference to Viśvāmitra |
| Kauṣṭubha | precious gem produced from the churning of the ocean |
| Kāvya | son of Bhṛgu, usually called Uṣanas Kāvya or Śukra, preceptor of the asuras and other demons |
| Kāvya’s mother | the wife of Bhṛgu, who is said to have had her head severed by Viṣṇu |
| Keśinī | elder wife of Sagara |
| Khara | brother of Rāvaṇa and Śūrpaṇakhā. He was slain by Rāma in the Daṇḍaka forest |
| kinnaras | mythical creatures with the head of a horse and a human body; the kinnara women are famed for their beauty |
| Kiṣkindhā | a city (sometimes a cave) inhabited by the monkeys |
| Kosala | name of the kingdom of the Ikṣvākus |
| Kṛśāśva’s sons | the personified weapons Viśvāmitra gives Rāma |
| Krttikās | the Pleiades, step-mothers of Kārtikeya |
| Kubera | god of wealth, son of Viśravas and step-brother of Rāvaṇa. Kubera is the king of the yakṣas and the kinnaras |
| Kumāra | name of Śiva’s son. See Kārtikeya |
| Kumbhakarṇa | brother of Rāvaṇa, known for his great size |
| Kuśa | a great sage, the mind-born son of Brahmā; his great-grandson is Viśvāmitra |
| Kuśa | Rāma’s son, twin brother Lava. Together they recite the Rāmāyaṇa |
| Kuśadhvaja | Janaka’s younger brother and ruler of Sāṃkāśya. His two daughters, Māṇḍavī and Śrutakīrtī, marry Bharata and Śatrughna, respectively |
| Kuśanābha | son of Kuśa, fathers one hundred daughters on the apsaras Ghrtācī, and is the father of Gādhi |
| Lakṣmaṇa | son of Daśaratha by Sumitrā. He is Rāma’s constant companion |
| Laṅkā | Rāvaṇa’s capital city, location of Sītā’s confinement |
| Lomapāda | variant form of Romapāda |
| Madana | epithet of Kāma, the god of love |
| Maithila | epithet of Janaka |
| Maithilī | woman of Mithilā, epithet of Sītā, daughter of Janaka, wife of Rāma |
| Mānasa | lake on Mt. Kailāsa created by Brahmā; the Sarayū river flows from it |
| Mandara | mountain used as the churning rod in the churning of the ocean |
| Māndavī | elder daughter of Janaka’s brother, Kuśadhvaja, and wife of Bharata |
| Mantharā | daughter of Virocana, said to have been killed by Indra |
| Manu | traditionally considered the father of the human race and first man; he is the legendary founder of the Ikṣvāku dynasty |
| Mārīca Kāśyapa | see Kāśyapa |
| Mārīca | a rākṣasa, son of Sunda and the yakṣa woman Tāṭakā. He becomes Rāvaṇa’s ally and aids in the abduction of Sītā |
| Maruts | sons of Diti, companions of Indra |
| Meghanāda | son of Rāvaṇa, also called Indrajit |
| Menā | wife of Himalaya, mother of Ganges and Umā |
| Menakā | an apsaras sent by Indra to seduce Viśvāmitra |
| Mithilā | Janaka’s capital city |
| Nala | name of a monkey who builds the bridge to Laṅkā for Rāma and his army, son of Viśvakarman |
| Nandigrāma | the village where Bharata lives during Rāma’s fourteen-year exile |
| Nārada | the divine messenger who reveals the Rāmāyaṇa story to the sage Vālmīki |
| Nārāyaṇa | epithet of Viṣṇu |
| Niṣāda hunter | a tribal hunter who slays the male of a pair of mating krauñca birds, thus inspiring Vālmīki to compose the first śloka or verse of poetry. The Niṣādas are the people of Guha |
| Pāka | a demon slain by Indra; the deed gives rise to the common epithet of the great god, Pākaśāsana, “Chastiser of Pāka” |
| Pampā | lake where Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa first encounter Hanumān and Sugrīva |
| Pārvatī | epithet of Umā |
| Paulastya | a descendant of Pulastya, a common epithet of Rāvaṇa |
| piśācas | a class of demons of a particularly low order |
| Rāghava | any descendant of Raghu, used especially of Rāma and his brothers |
| Raghu | son of Kakutstha and ancestor of Rāma |
| rākṣasas | a class of violent and bloodthirsty demons regarded as the implacable enemies of brahmanical culture and civilization. Their king is the ten-headed Rāvaṇa who rules from the splendid island-fortress of Laṅkā |
| Rāma Dāśarathi | eldest son of Daśaratha by Kausalyā and hero of the story |
| Rāma Jāmadagnya | known also as Bhārgava Rāma or Paraśurāma. He is the son of the sage Jamadagni |
| Rambhā | an apsaras who attempts to seduce Viśvāmitra, but is cursed by him |
| Rasātala | name of a hell |
| Rāvaṇa | main antagonist of the Rāmāyaṇa. The rākṣasas’ ten-headed overlord who abducts Sītā |
| Ṛcīka | a Bhārgava sage, husband of Satyavatī and brother-in-law of Viśvāmitra |
| Rohiṇī | daughter of Dakṣa and favorite consort of the moon |
| Romapāda | king of Aṅga and friend of Daśaratha. He is the father of Śāntā and the father-in-law of Ṛśyaśṛṅga |
| Ṛśyamūka | the mountain where Rāma meets the monkey Sugrīva |
| Ṛśyaśṛṅga | the innocent boy-sage, son of Vibhāṇḍaka and husband of Śāntā |
| Rudra | epithet of Śiva |
| Śabalā | Vasiṣṭha’s wish-fulfilling cow |
| Śabarī | hermit woman who aids Rāma in his search for Sītā |
| Śacī’s lord | a common epithet of Indra. Śacī is Indra’s wife |
| Sagara | an Ikṣvāku king, ancestor of Rāma, who has two wives, Keśinī and Sumati, and sixty thousand and one sons |
| Śakra | a common epithet of Indra |
| Sampāti | vulture brother of Jaṭāyus who aids the monkeys in their search for Sītā |
| Sanatkumāra | name of a seer who tells the Ṛśyaśṛṅga story |
| Śaṅkara | epithet of Śiva |
| Śāntā | Romapāda’s daughter and Ṛśyaśṛṅga’s wife |
| Śarabhaṅga | an ascetic whom Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa seek out after their en-counter with the rākṣasa Virādha |
| Sarayū | name of a river that flows through the kingdom of Kosala |
| Śatānanda | son of Gautama and Ahalyā, preceptor of Janaka. He narrates the story of the conflict between Viśvāmitra and Vasiṣṭha |
| Śatrughna | youngest son of Daśaratha by Sumitrā. He is Bharata’s friend and constant companion |
| Satyavatī | wife of Ṛcīka and sister of Viśvāmitra; she follows her husband to heaven and becomes the divine river Kauśikī |
| Saumitri | son of Sumitrā, matronymic name of Lakṣmaṇa |
| Śiva | one of the three main god (the “trinity”) of the Hindu pantheon, along with Brahmā and Viṣṇu. He is famed for his asceticism and is the husband of Umā (Pārvatī) |
| Somadā | gandharva woman who attends Cūlin while he is practicing austerities, mother of Brahmadatta |
| Śrṅgavera | a city on the Ganges river ruled by the Niṣāda king, Guha |
| Śrutakīrtī | Kuśadhvaja’s youngest daughter and wife of Śatrughna |
| Sthāṇu | epithet of Śiva |
| Subāhu | a rākṣasa companion of Mārīca. He is slain by Rāma |
| Sugrīva | king of the monkeys, friend and ally of Rāma |
| Suketu | a yakṣa, the father of Tāṭakā |
| Sumantra | charioteer and advisor to King Daśaratha |
| Sumati | younger wife of Sagara, daughter of Ariṣṭanemi |
| Sumati | descendant of Viśāla and king of Viśālā |
| Sumitrā | youngest wife of Daśaratha and mother of Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna |
| Śunaḥśepa | middle son of Ṛcīka, a Bhārgava sage, who was sold by his parents to the Ikṣvāku king Ambarīṣa as a replacement for his sacrificial victim |
| Suparṇa | epithet of Garuḍa |
| Suprabhā | daughter of Dakṣa, wife of Brahmā, and mother of the Saṃhāras |
| Śūrpaṇakhā | the sister of Rāvaṇa; she attempts to seduce Rāma in the Pañcavaṭī forest |
| Sūrya | sun god, father of Sugrīva |
| Sutīkṣṇa | a sage whom Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa visit during their exile |
| Tamasā | river near the Ganges on whose banks Vālmīki is said to have his ashram |
| Tārā | wife of Vālin |
| Tāṭakā | a yakṣa woman who is cursed to become a rākṣasa. She is the mother of the rākṣasa Mārīca. At Viśvāmitra’s behest, Rāma kills her |
| Trijaṭā | a rākṣasa woman who comforts Sītā during her captivity |
| Tripura | name of the city of the demons, destroyed by Śiva |
| Triśaṅku | an Ikṣvāku king and ancestor of Rāma, who desires to obtain heaven in his mortal form |
| Triśiras | a rākṣasa slain by Rāma |
| Tvaṣṭṛ | divine craftsman of the Indian pantheon |
| Uccaiḥśravas | divine horse produced during the churning of the ocean, given to Indra |
| Umā | wife of Śiva, daughter of the mountain Himalaya |
| Ūrmilā | daughter of Janaka and wife of Lakṣmaṇa |
| Vaideha | epithet of Janaka |
| Vaidehī | epithet of Sītā |
| Vainateya | a matronymic name of Garuḍa |
| Vairocana | see Bali |
| Vaiśravaṇa | descendant of Viśravas, either Kubera, god of wealth, or Rāvaṇa, king of the rākṣasas |
| Vālin | king of the monkeys, husband of Tārā, and son of Indra. He is the elder brother of Sugrīva |
| Vālmīki | sage and composer of the Rāmāyaṇa |
| Varuṇa | god of the ocean |
| Vāruṇī | Varuṇa’s daughter, produced during the churning of the ocean. She is the personification of wine |
| Vāsava | epithet of Indra |
| Vasiṣṭha | Daśaratha’s family preceptor, rival of Viśvāmitra |
| Vāsudeva | epithet of Viṣṇu, he assumes the form of the sage Kapila |
| Vāsuki | the great serpent used as the rope in the churning of the ocean |
| Vāyu | god of wind, who seduces the daughters of Kuśanābha |
| Vibhāṇḍaka | son of Kāśyapa and father of Ṛśyaśṛṅga |
| Vibhīṣaṇa | a rākṣasa, brother of Rāvaṇa. He joins Rāma’s army and, after the defeat of the demon troops and the death of his brother, is installed by Rāma as king of Laṅkā |
| Videha | epithet of Janaka |
| vidyādharas | class of semi-divine beings. The women are famed for their beauty |
| Virādha | a rākṣasa, who, having attempted to abduct Sītā, is slain by Rāma |
| Virocana | asura king and ancestor of Bali whose daughter, Mantharā, is slain by Indra |
| Viśāla | son of Ikṣvāku and Alambuṣā, founder of Viśālā |
| Viśālā | famous city through which Rāma passes on his journey to Mithilā |
| Viśvakarman | god of craft, architect of the gods |
| Viṣṇu | one of the three main gods of the Hindu “trinity,” along with Brahmā and Śiva. He is said to be incarnated on earth in the form of Rāma in order to kill the demon Rāvaṇa |
| Viśvāmitra | an important sage in the Bālakāṇḍa. He serves as teacher and friend to Rāma, bestowing upon the young prince divine weapons. Originally a kshatriya, he becomes a brahman through his severe austerities |
| Vṛtra | a demon slain by Indra |
| yakṣas | semi-divine beings associated with Kubera. The women are known for their beauty |
| Yudhājit | son of the king of the Kekayas. Sister of Kaikeyī and maternal uncle of Bharata |