Hinduism · Texts & transmission
The Ramayana grows through retelling
c. 500 BCE–200 CE
The Sanskrit Ramayana developed over a long period of composition and revision. Traditionally associated with Valmiki, its account of Rama, Sita, and their companions became a major source of religious storytelling, repeatedly adapted into regional languages and different performance traditions.
Why it matters
The epic illustrates how sacred narrative travels through retelling and performance as well as through the preservation of a written text.
About the date
Approximate composition span; narrative time is not a historical event date.