<P> Tulsidas begins the story with an invocation to various deities, his guru, and saints who have preceded him and those who will succeed him in the future . Homage is paid to Valmiki for bringing the Ramayana to the devotees of Rama . Next are introduced and praised the various characters of the epic beginning with the birthplace of Rama, the holy city of Ayodhya . Praises are bestowed on Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya and Rama's father, and his queens Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra . Tulsidas then praises King Janaka, the father - in - law of Rama), and his family . He goes on to praise the brothers of Rama - Bharata, Lakshman & Shatrughna and sings the glories of Hanuman, the constant companion to Rama, Sugriva, the monkey king and Jambavan, the leader of bears . Next, the characters of Sita and Rama are introduced . </P> <P> The story of Ramcharitmanas is then underway . It begins with the meeting of two sages - Bharadwaj and Yajnavalkya . Bharadwaj asks Yajnavalkya to narrate in detail the story of Rama . Yajnavalkya begins with how Shiva came about retelling the story of Rama to his wife Parvati . (The great story of Sati's self - immolation, the destruction of her father Daksha's sacrifice, the rebirth of Sati as Parvati and her marriage to Shiva). Shiva explains five different reasons as to why Rama incarnated on earth in different ages Kalpa (aeon). Each of these stories is discussed in detail, with the primary message being that Rama incarnated on earth to protect the righteous who follow the path of Dharma . The story then moves to the birth of Ravana and his brothers . Post this point, the narration is done at different times by Shiva, Yajnavalkya, Kakbhushundi and Tulsidas . </P> <P> The story now moves to the abode of Brahma where Brahma and the other Hindu Devas are found mulling on the ways to rid the earth of Ravana and his excesses . Unable to find a solution, they pray to Shiva and ask him for his guidance on where to find the supreme God who will come to their rescue . Shiva tells them that they don't need to go anywhere to find the Supreme God for He resides in the hearts of his devotees . All the Devas then Pray to the supreme Brahman to rid the earth of the demons wreaking havoc on men as well as Devas . Brahman shows compassion to all and announces in an Akashvani that He will be born in the Sun Dynasty to save the Devas and His devotees from the demons . </P> <P> The story then moves to Ayodhya . One fine day, Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, realizes that he has become old and still issueless...He conveys his distress to sage Vasistha, the family guru, and seeks the way forward . Vasistha comforts Dasharatha and tells him that he will have four sons . Vasistha requests Shringi Rishi to perform the Putrakām yajna (vedic yajna for the birth of sons). Tulsidas states that the birth of Rama and his brothers took place on the ninth day of the Chaitra month . It was the fortnight of the moon, known as the shukla period . </P>

Who said these lines mangal bhawan amangal haari in ramcharitmanas