"The Rāmāyana, Volume 1. Bālakāndam and Ayodhyākāndam" by Valmiki is a Sanskrit epic with its earliest portions composed between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE. This ancient Hindu text follows Prince Rama's fourteen-year exile from his kingdom of Ayodhya, accompanied by his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. Their forest journey leads to Sita's kidnapping by Ravana, king of Lanka, setting in motion a conflict that will test virtue, loyalty, and duty before Rama's eventual return home. (This is an automatically generated summary.)