This Ramayana quiz for kids has 38 questions with answers about Ram, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman and Ravana, sorted into easy, medium and hard rounds and following the seven kandas of the story. It is a good fit for the festival weeks between Dussehra on 20 October and Diwali on 8 November 2026, when children hear the story at home and in school.
All the questions are new, so they do not repeat the 25 questions in our Dussehra quiz for kids. Play both for a two-part festival quiz, or use this one on its own at any time of year.
Ramayana quiz for kids at a glance
Choose the rounds that suit your group. Younger children can stop after the easy round. Older classes can play all 38 questions in about 40 minutes.
| Round | Questions | Best for | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 1 to 12 | Ages 5 to 7 (KG to Class 2) | Main characters and places |
| Medium | 13 to 26 | Ages 8 to 10 (Classes 3 to 5) | The story kanda by kanda |
| Hard | 27 to 38 | Ages 11 and up (Classes 6 to 8) | Lesser-known heroes, the text and retellings |
The Ramayana story in brief
Read this short summary aloud before you start, so every child begins with the same story. Valmiki’s Ramayana is divided into seven books called kandas, and the summary follows them in order.
- Bala Kanda (childhood): King Dasharatha of Ayodhya has four sons: Ram, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Sage Vishwamitra takes young Ram and Lakshmana to protect his prayers from demons. In Mithila, Ram breaks Lord Shiva’s great bow and marries Sita, daughter of King Janaka.
- Ayodhya Kanda: Just before Ram is to be crowned, he is sent to the forest for 14 years. Sita and Lakshmana go with him. Bharata refuses to take the crown and rules only on Ram’s behalf.
- Aranya Kanda (forest): The three live in the forest and meet many sages. Ravana, king of Lanka, carries Sita away.
- Kishkindha Kanda: Ram makes friends with the vanara king Sugriva and his minister Hanuman. The vanaras search for Sita in every direction.
- Sundara Kanda: Hanuman leaps across the ocean, finds Sita in Lanka and brings news back to Ram.
- Yuddha Kanda (war): The army crosses to Lanka on a bridge, Ram defeats Ravana, and Ram and Sita return to Ayodhya, where Ram is crowned.
- Uttara Kanda (later book): It tells of Ram’s rule and of Sita’s twin sons, Lava and Kusha. Many scholars think this book was added later, and its events are told differently in different versions.
Ramayana characters at a glance
Keep this table on the board during the quiz. It helps younger children with names and spellings.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Ram (Rama) | Eldest prince of Ayodhya, believed to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu |
| Sita | Ram’s wife, daughter of King Janaka of Mithila |
| Lakshmana | Ram’s brother, who stays by his side in the forest |
| Bharata and Shatrughna | Ram’s other brothers, who stay in Ayodhya |
| Dasharatha | King of Ayodhya, father of the four princes |
| Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, Sumitra | Dasharatha’s three queens |
| Hanuman | Vanara hero and Ram’s greatest devotee |
| Sugriva | Vanara king of Kishkindha and Ram’s ally |
| Jambavan | Wise bear king in Ram’s army |
| Ravana | Ten-headed king of Lanka |
| Vibhishana | Ravana’s brother, who joins Ram |
Easy Ramayana quiz for kids (ages 5 to 7)
These twelve questions cover the names and places children hear first. Accept close spellings, such as Ram or Rama, Lakshman or Lakshmana.
- Ram was the prince of which city?
Answer: Ayodhya - What was the name of Ram’s wife?
Answer: Sita - Which brother went to the forest with Ram and Sita?
Answer: Lakshmana - For how many years did Ram live in the forest?
Answer: 14 years - What was the name of Ram’s mother?
Answer: Queen Kaushalya - How many brothers did Ram have?
Answer: Three (Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna) - Which island kingdom did Ravana rule?
Answer: Lanka - Who was Sita’s father?
Answer: King Janaka - Which wise old bear was a helper in Ram’s army?
Answer: Jambavan - Which old woman lovingly offered Ram berries in the forest?
Answer: Shabari - Which festival of lights is linked with Ram coming home to Ayodhya?
Answer: Diwali (in many parts of India) - Which vanara hero is famous for his great love for Ram?
Answer: Hanuman
Medium round: the Ramayana kanda by kanda (ages 8 to 10)
This round of Ramayana quiz questions and answers follows the story in order. Read out the kanda name before each group of questions, so children can follow where they are in the story.
Bala Kanda and Ayodhya Kanda
- Which sage took young Ram and Lakshmana to guard his yajna (fire prayer) from demons?
Answer: Sage Vishwamitra - Whose mighty bow did Ram lift and break to win Sita’s hand?
Answer: Lord Shiva’s bow - In which kingdom was Sita’s swayamvara held?
Answer: Mithila (also called Videha) - Which maid filled Queen Kaikeyi’s mind with jealousy?
Answer: Manthara - Which boatman king helped Ram, Sita and Lakshmana cross the river Ganga?
Answer: Guha, king of the Nishadas (popular retellings also tell of a boatman called Kevat) - At which hill did Bharata meet Ram and beg him to come home?
Answer: Chitrakoot
Aranya Kanda and Kishkindha Kanda
- Panchavati, where Ram, Sita and Lakshmana built a hut, was near which river?
Answer: The Godavari - Which vanara king became Ram’s friend and promised to help find Sita?
Answer: Sugriva - Who was Sugriva’s powerful elder brother, the king of Kishkindha?
Answer: Vali (also called Bali) - Which old vulture, brother of Jatayu, told the vanaras that Sita was in Lanka?
Answer: Sampati
Sundara Kanda and Yuddha Kanda
- What did Sita give Hanuman to carry back to Ram as a sign?
Answer: Her hair jewel (chudamani) - Which son of Vali was sent to Ravana’s court as Ram’s messenger?
Answer: Angada - What was the name of Ravana’s chief queen?
Answer: Mandodari - In which flying chariot did Ram and Sita travel back to Ayodhya?
Answer: The Pushpaka Vimana
Hard Ramayana quiz in English (ages 11 and up)
The hard round adds lesser-known characters, the text itself and retellings from India and Asia. It suits Classes 6 to 8 and adult teams.
- How many kandas (books) are there in Valmiki’s Ramayana?
Answer: Seven - About how many verses (shlokas) does Valmiki’s Ramayana have, by tradition?
Answer: About 24,000 - What is the name of Ram’s own bow?
Answer: Kodanda (which is why Ram is also called Kodandarama) - Which demoness did Ram defeat on his first mission with Vishwamitra?
Answer: Tataka (also spelt Tadaka) - Which woman, living under a curse, was set free when Ram came to her ashram?
Answer: Ahalya, wife of sage Gautama - Which sage with an axe challenged Ram after the bow was broken?
Answer: Parashurama - Who was Lakshmana’s wife, who stayed behind in Ayodhya?
Answer: Urmila, Sita’s sister - Which hymn to the Sun did sage Agastya teach Ram before his last battle with Ravana?
Answer: The Aditya Hridayam - Which kind rakshasi guard comforted Sita in Lanka and told her of a good dream?
Answer: Trijata - Uttara Kanda: who were Sita’s twin sons, brought up in Valmiki’s ashram?
Answer: Lava and Kusha (Luv and Kush) - Which poet wrote the famous Tamil Ramayana, the Ramavataram?
Answer: Kamban (it is often called the Kamba Ramayanam) - What is the Thai national epic based on the Ramayana called?
Answer: The Ramakien
Why versions of the Ramayana differ
Older children may notice that a detail in this quiz is not the same as the version they know. That is normal. The Ramayana has been retold for centuries in many languages, and each retelling adds or changes scenes.
- Valmiki’s Ramayana in Sanskrit is the oldest full version and the base for most answers here.
- Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi is the version most often heard in North India. Some well-known scenes, such as the Lakshmana rekha, come from later tellings rather than Valmiki.
- Regional versions include Kamban’s in Tamil, Krittibas’s in Bengali and Ezhuthachan’s in Malayalam.
- Across Asia, the story is told as the Ramakien in Thailand and in dance and shadow puppet plays in Indonesia, Cambodia and other countries.
If a child gives an answer from another version, accept it and ask where they heard it. It is a good chance to show how one story can travel.
How to run this Ramayana quiz for kids in class or at a party
This plan fits a 40 minute lesson, an assembly slot or a family evening.
- Tell the story (5 minutes). Read the kanda summary above, or ask children to retell parts they know.
- Make teams of four. Name them after characters, such as Team Jambavan, Team Angada or Team Shabari.
- Play the easy round aloud (8 minutes). Teams write answers on paper and hold them up together.
- Play the medium round kanda by kanda (12 minutes). Give 30 seconds per question. For Class 3, offer three answer choices.
- Play the hard round (10 minutes). Award a bonus point if a team can say which kanda the answer comes from.
- Finish with a talk (5 minutes). Ask which character each child admires most, and why.
Tips: present the Ramayana as a story that many classmates’ families hold sacred, using words like “according to the Ramayana”. At a party, let a grown-up read the questions and let children take turns as the “quiz master” for the easy round.
Ideas for younger children
- Ages 4 to 6: turn questions into picture choices: a bear, a parrot and a lion for “Which animal was Jambavan?”.
- Ages 6 to 8: give three spoken options for each question.
- Ages 9 and up: ask teams to put six answers in story order, from the breaking of the bow to the Pushpaka Vimana.
After the quiz, ask children to draw one scene on a storyboard template or write it on story paper. Retelling a scene checks understanding better than another round of questions.
Printable ramayana quiz for kids (free PDF)
Print this ramayana quiz for kids as a quiz sheet: every question from the rounds above with a line to write the answer, and a separate answer key for the quizmaster. The ramayana quiz for kids PDF has 4 pages and prints on US Letter or A4.
Print at 100% (actual size). Every page is black and white line art, so it copies cleanly on a school printer.
Related guides and printables
- Dussehra quiz for kids, 25 questions
- Hanuman quiz with answers
- Ram Navami quiz for kids
- Mahabharata quiz for kids
- 60 Diwali quiz questions with answers
- Online India GK quiz
- Dussehra coloring pages: Ram, Hanuman and Ravan
Sources
- Valmiki’s Ramayana, as summarised in Encyclopædia Britannica: “Ramayana” (seven books, about 24,000 couplets)
- Encyclopædia Britannica: “Kampan” (Tamil Ramavataram) and “Ramakien”
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana (2008)
- Diwali 2026 date: Government of India holiday list (Sunday 8 November 2026)
Further reading: Ramayana (Wikipedia) and Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana (UNESCO).
Frequently asked questions
8 quick answers
What are some easy Ramayana questions for kids?
Try: Ram was the prince of which city? (Ayodhya). Who was Sita’s father? (King Janaka). For how many years was Ram in the forest? (14). Which old woman offered Ram berries? (Shabari).
What are the seven kandas of the Ramayana?
Bala Kanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya Kanda, Kishkindha Kanda, Sundara Kanda, Yuddha Kanda (also called Lanka Kanda) and Uttara Kanda.
Who wrote the Ramayana?
The Sanskrit Ramayana is traditionally credited to the sage Valmiki, who is called the Adi Kavi, or first poet. Many later poets retold it in their own languages.
Is this Ramayana quiz different from the Dussehra quiz?
Yes. None of the 38 questions here repeat the 25 questions in our Dussehra quiz, so you can use both in the same week.
How many questions should a Ramayana quiz for school have?
For a 30 to 40 minute slot, 25 to 40 questions in three rounds works well. Use only the easy round for KG to Class 2, and add the medium and hard rounds for older classes.
Why do some answers differ from the story I know?
The Ramayana has many versions. This quiz mostly follows Valmiki’s Ramayana, while other tellings, such as the Ramcharitmanas, include different scenes. Accept answers from other versions if a child can explain them.
Can I use this Ramayana quiz for kids at Dussehra or Diwali?
Yes. This Ramayana quiz for kids follows the story from Ayodhya to Lanka, so it fits Dussehra, Diwali and Ram Navami. Pick one round of the Ramayana quiz for younger children and all three rounds for older ones.
Do the Ramayana quiz questions and answers follow the order of the story?
The medium round does: it moves through the story kanda by kanda, from the Bala Kanda to the Yuddha Kanda. Read out the kanda name before each group of questions so children can follow where they are in the story.
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