KATHA ATLAS · AN ILLUSTRATED JOURNEY
Ten selected scenes. A map to connect them. A moment to talk together.
A story sequence, not a dated history. Places are traditional or approximate identifications; alternatives are retained.
The map is unavailable. Every scene remains readable below.
SCENE 01 / 10 · Ayodhya
Rama leaves Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana for fourteen years in the forest.
Valmiki Ramayana · Ayodhya Kanda
traditional identification
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 02 / 10 · Tamasa: approximate modern identification
The exiles spend their first night on the bank of the Tamasa; the citizens who followed them are left asleep.
Valmiki Ramayana · Ayodhya Kanda, sarga 46
modern identification
This identification rests on a single source.
The inherited coordinates need further checking, so this reader leaves this scene without a map pin. The first-night campsite is not confirmed.
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 03 / 10 · Shringverpur (Singraur), Prayagraj district
Guha, chief of the Nishadas, receives Rama at Shringaverapura and has a boat readied to cross the Ganga.
Valmiki Ramayana · Ayodhya Kanda, sarga 50, 52
traditional identification
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 04 / 10 · Prayagraj (Ganga-Yamuna confluence)
Where the Ganga and Yamuna meet, the sage Bharadvaja hosts the exiles and directs them to Chitrakuta.
Valmiki Ramayana · Ayodhya Kanda, sarga 54
traditional identification
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 05 / 10 · Chitrakoot (Kamadgiri hill)
The exiles settle on Chitrakuta hill; Bharata comes here and returns with Rama’s sandals to rule in his name.
Valmiki Ramayana · Ayodhya Kanda, sarga 56
traditional identification
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 06 / 10 · Panchavati, Nashik
On Agastya’s advice the exiles build a hut at Panchavati by the Godavari. Here the golden deer appears, and Sita is carried off by Ravana.
Valmiki Ramayana · Aranya Kanda, sarga 13, 15
identification disputed
Another identification: Parnasala, near Bhadrachalam
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 07 / 10 · Anegundi
Searching for Sita, Rama reaches Pampa lake, meets Hanuman and allies with Sugriva of Kishkindha.
Valmiki Ramayana · Kishkindha Kanda, sarga 1
traditional identification
Another identification: Hampi
Another identification: Pampa Sarovar
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 08 / 10 · Sri Lanka (traditional identification)
Hanuman finds Sita in Ravana’s Lanka. The search has brought news of her, while the journey toward their reunion is still ahead.
Valmiki Ramayana · Sundara Kanda
identification disputed
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 09 / 10 · Rameswaram island
At the ocean’s edge the vanara army, led by the builder Nala, builds a causeway to Lanka.
Valmiki Ramayana · Yuddha Kanda, sarga 22
traditional identification
Another identification: Dhanushkodi
Another identification: Adam's Bridge (Ram Setu), Palk Strait
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →SCENE 10 / 10 · Ayodhya
Rama flies back in the Pushpaka, meets Bharata at Nandigrama and is crowned in Ayodhya. Families link Diwali’s lamps to this homecoming; that is a later tradition about the festival, not part of Valmiki’s narrative.
Valmiki Ramayana · Yuddha Kanda, sarga 123, 124, 127, 128
traditional identification
Another identification: Nandigram (Bharatkund), Ayodhya district
This is a selected episode summary, not the complete text. Map lines show narrative connections, not travel routes or proof of historical geography.
See the journey’s source list →Keep exploring the tradition or take a story into your next family reading.
Discover Little hands, big kindness →Follow Rama, Sita and Lakshmana from Ayodhya to Lanka and home again, episode by episode, with the Valmiki Ramayana book for each. The places are traditional identifications of places named in the epic, not archaeological findings; where more than one place claims an episode, all are shown.
Illustrations and conversation prompts are original editorial additions. This ten-scene selection omits many episodes; it is not a complete Ramayana retelling. The Hanuman-in-Lanka scene precedes the bridge scene in this reader.