The Ramayana and Mahabharata are two of the most famous and influential pieces of literature in Indian history. They were written around 100 BCE, but most likely were added to and changed through out the years. The Mahabharata wasn't actually collected together into one complete book until about 350 CE. Both of these books are myths and folktales that were passed down through generations. They are filled with Indian religious values and tenets. They were written in Sanskrit but were translated into other languages. This helped them become more accessible. .
The Ramayana is a huge poem that consists of nearly 50,000 lines. It tells the story of Rà ma and his wife Sità . When Rà ma was a young man he was a perfect son, and became a perfect husband. This story is supposed to take place in 1000 BCE. Rà ma is a prince but is banished to the woods by his stepmother. When he comes back to his kingdom his wife is kidnapped by the King of Lanka. Rà ma raises an army and gets his wife back. When he gets her back he makes her prove her purity before they can be re-wed. When he returns with his wife he retakes his crown and the land lives in peace and everyone does his or her dharma. His rule was called Ram-rajya. Mahatma Gandhi dreamed that one day modern India would become a Ram-rajya. This story shows that if everyone fulfills his or her dharma or duty the land will prosper.
According to Swami Vivekananda at http://www.hindunet.org/ramayana/ "Rama, the ancient idol of the heroic ages, the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the ideal king, this Rama has been presented before us by the great sage Valmiki. No language can be purer, none more chaste, none more beautiful, and at the same time simpler, than the language in which the great poet has depicted the life of Rama." .
The Mahabharata contains 18 parvas or chapters. It has 100,000 stanzas that contain two lines each.
