The Rāmāyaṇa (/rɑːˈmɑːjənə/;[1][2] Sanskrit: रामायणम्,[3] IAST: Rāmāyaṇam) is a Sanskrit epic from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism, known as the Itihasas (history), the other being the Mahābhārata.[4] The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana – the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebration.