e forest for fourteen years his trials in the wild, represents and ordering of chaos. Rama himself, when he is in the forest represents dharma itself and its effects that it has on dangerous and chaotic things. He tames the wildness that the forest represents and brings it under his control. Rama meets the monkey Hanuman while in the forest and befriends him. Hanuman swears loyalty to Rama and helps him build a bridge to Lanka and destroy Ravana. Hanuman is a popular god in India and represents the perfect friend loyal, courageous, and strong (Kinsley 26). The caste system that the kingdom of Ayodha stands for is due to the idea of karma. Karma is the core of Hindu belief and is intertwined with the idea of dharma. Hindus believe that karma represents all our actions and thoughts. These actions known as karma will be returned to the individual. The Hindus also believe in reincarnation. Samsara is the idea that when a person dies he will be reborn according to his karma. Samsara is the constant death and rebirth of the individual. This cycle will go on forever until and if the person achieves enlightenment (maksa). Maksa is the ultimate goal of all Hindu followers and is reached by keeping good dharma (Herman 114). Rama is the constant keeper of karma throughout the story. He treats everybody with fairness and constantly puts the welfare of the kingdom and social order before his own personal happiness. His father the King Dasharatha is tricked and must exile Rama from the kingdom. When Rama is banished from the kingdom, after he was promised the crown, does not get upset and in fact leaves happily because his father keeps his word. Truthfulness in Indian culture is the essence of enlightenment. All order and power flow from this virtue. Rama is the perfect son, never forsaking his father and is obedient till the very end. Rama also maintains his pose with Manthara and Kaikeyi, the ones who plotted Rama's fourteen-y...
