The Ramayana, also known as the Ramayana and the Ramayana (Devanagari :. रामायण, Ramayana translation) is a Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and an important part of the Hindu canon (smrti). The name Ramayana is a compound of Rama and ayana Tatpurusa "going, advancing", which translates as "the journey of Rama". The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses in seven corners (Kandas) and tells the story of a prince, Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon (Rakshasa) king of Lanka, Ravana. His poems are written in metric called thirty-two syllables Anustubh. In its current form, the Valmiki Ramayana date variously from 500 BC to 100 BC, or nearly contemporary with previous versions of the Mahabharata. As with most traditional epics, and went through a long process of interpolations and redactions, it is impossible to date accurately. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry, primarily due to the use of the Sloka meter. But, like its epic cousin Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just an ordinary story. It contains the teachings of ancient Hindu sages and presents them through allegory in narrative and the collation of the philosophical and the devotional. The characters of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, Hanuman and Ravana (the villain) are fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India.