It is said that when the human-form Lord Rama and demon Ravana engaged in a battle, it was so out of the world that fr a while both their respective armies stopped duelling and stood watching the two fight. It was o intense a duel that it shook all the worlds and frightened all people. Soon after that came the fierce and a prolonged chariot-duel between the prince of Ayodhya and the king of Lanka. Every time that Rama cut off Ravana's head, another head would crop up in its place. Ravana's chariot's flag-staff was brought down by Rama's arrows. Rama and Ravana fought a fierce battle with bow and arrows for nearly seven days. Ramayana - that first long epic poem of Bharat told by Rishi (sage) Valmiki in Sanskrit over 24,000 verses - comprises nearly 24,000 verses (mostly set in the Shloka/Anustubh meter). Painting 'Ramayana from Udaipur' by Sahib Din (1652)
