The Ramayana is a Sanskrit epic and smriti text attributed to the legendary poet Valmki, dating to the 7th century BCE, though the actual date of composition is unknown. The Ramayana follows Rama during his 14-year exile from Kosala, during which he travels through India with his brother Lakshmana and his wife Sita, fighting off rakshasas and asuras. He also wages war against Ravana of Lanka after he kidnaps Sita. When he wins the war, he and Sita return home to Kosala and are crowned raja and radnyi. 

In the original epic, Rama is the hero while Kaikeyi, Manthara, and Ravana are the villains. A weak-willed Kaikeyi pushes to exile Rama because of the conniving manipulations of her nurse Manthara, who seeks to gain power by crowning Kaikeyi’s son Bharata. Ravana is part rakshasa and kidnaps Sita for his own gains. However, in Patel’s version, she positions Rama as the villain, along with Sage Vamadeva Gautama. In her retelling, Rama is a god, an avatar of Vishnu, but he does not act in an ethical way.