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Rama is the titular protagonist and the first son of King Dasaratha. Though in this story Rama is a human, he's actually an avatar of the god Vishnu, who decided to take a human form in order to kill the evil rakshasa (demon) Ravana. Because of this, Rama's true identity is identifiable by his desire to rid the world of evil. He's exceptionally strong and skilled in battle, which is also an early clue to those around him that he's an incarnation of Vishnu. Rama uses this strength to string Shiva's bow and win Sita's hand in marriage. Though every citizen of Kosala wants Rama to be king, Rama demonstrates his intense loyalty and honor when he insists that Dasaratha uphold his promise to Kaikeyi, one of his wives, and crown Rama's brother, Bharatha, king instead. Rama retreats to the forests with Sita and his brother, Lakshmana, for 14 years, during which time Rama battles demons and rakshasas. When Ravana kidnaps Sita, Rama works closely with the monkeys of Kiskinda to rescue her. During the fight with Ravana, Rama behaves honorably by allowing Ravana time to recover from fainting spells, and even doubts the legitimacy and righteousness of his victory when he notices an injury on Ravana's back and fears that he inflicted it while Ravana fled. Though Rama has a streak of jealousy and possessiveness, especially when it comes to Sita (and even moreso in a later episode that is left out of this version of the epic), in general he is presented as the ideal hero and man.

Sita is Rama's wife and the incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi, Vishnu's wife—Sita was literally made for Rama. In the human world, King Janaka found the infant Sita in a plowed field and raised her as his own. To protect her from unsuitable callers, Janaka set the test that any man who wished to marry Sita must be able to string Shiva's bow, which is an impossible task for a simple mortal man. Sita represents the ideal wife and woman: she's exceptionally loyal to her husband and follows him into exile; she's beautiful even when she's dressed in tree bark and under duress; and she passes every test of her faithfulness to Rama. Despite her positive qualities, however, Sita at times is vain, petulant, and disobedient. Her disobedience leads to her kidnapping by Ravana.

Lakshmana is Rama's half brother, and son to King Dasaratha. The two are very close, and Lakshmana represents the ideal brother. He chooses to go with Rama when the sage Viswamithra asks for Rama's help as boys, and when Rama is exiled, Lakshmana chooses to go into exile with his brother. He's extremely adept at fighting and Rama is also surprised to discover that Lakshmana is gifted with the skills of an architect. Lakshmana is, however, somewhat more emotionally driven than Rama is; at several points in the story, Rama has to talk Lakshmana out of making rash or violent decisions without thinking them through. At other times, Lakshmana shows that he's equally as level-headed as his brother. Though he marries Sita's sister, Lakshmana's wife doesn't factor into the story in a major capacity. Similarly, though he's a twin to Sathrugna, he's much closer to Rama than his twin.

Dasaratha is the emperor of Kosala and Rama’s father. He has three wives, Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumithra, none of whom have children, but after offering specific sacrifices, he has four sons: Rama, Lakshmana, Sathrugna, and Bharatha. Dasaratha cares deeply for all four of his children and resists Viswamithra's request to take Rama on a journey to protect him. However, Dasaratha is extremely dutiful, and finally agrees to Viswamithra's wishes. Later, when Dasaratha realizes that he's getting quite old and should pick a successor, he chooses Rama to succeed him. When Kaikeyi insists that Dasaratha crown her son Bharatha instead of Rama to fulfill a boon he granted her years ago, Dasaratha feels he has no choice but to agree, though agreeing to this leads to Dasaratha's death.

Sugreeva is a monkey from Kiskinda. His brother, Vali, banished him from the kingdom because he believed that Sugreeva tried to usurp the crown, though Sugreeva remained honorable and loyal to his brother's claim. Sugreeva asks Rama for help in killing Vali, but feels extremely guilty when their plan works and Vali dies. As the king of Kiskinda, Sugreeva gives himself over to material pleasures and spends his time drinking alcohol and enjoying the company of beautiful women, causing him to ignore the promise he made to Rama to provide an army to search for Sita. When Sugreeva is made to see the error of his ways, though, he vows to give up alcohol and becomes one of Rama's greatest and most loyal allies in the fight against Ravana.

Bharatha is the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Like his brothers, Bharatha is a skilled warrior and exceptionally thoughtful. He is extremely angry when he hears that Kaikeyi forced Dasaratha to name him as the next emperor of Kosala instead of Rama. Bharatha attempts to bring Rama back from exile through a philosophical debate, but Rama insists that Bharatha follow their father's wishes and rule until Rama returns from exile. Bharatha agrees, but rather than rule as an emperor, he places Rama's sandals on the throne and rules as a regent from a settlement outside the capital city. When Rama returns from exile, Bharatha gladly transfers power to his brother.

Hanuman is a monkey who initially serves Sugreeva. In his childhood, Hanuman's father told Hanuman to dedicate his life to serving Vishnu. Hanuman is the first monkey to realize that Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu, and in following his father's instructions, Hanuman becomes one of Rama's most trusted and loyal advisers. He's also an excellent judge of character; he correctly judges Vibishana, Ravana's brother, as being loyal to Rama's cause. Hanuman is also extremely powerful, though he's unaware of his powers for much of the story. When Hanuman is reminded of his great power, he finds he's capable of growing to a massive size and can step over the ocean in one step. He's tasked with finding Sita in Lanka, and keeps Sita from committing suicide out of despair. When Rama is finally crowned king in Ayodhya, Hanuman chooses to stay with Rama and serve him.

Vali is the initial king of the monkeys in Kiskinda. He's a very powerful being in his own right, but he also has the special power of being nearly invincible. When someone wishes to fight Vali, they give up half their power to Vali, making him even stronger. However, this power makes Vali an unwilling listener. He banishes his brother, Sugreeva, because he was unwilling to listen to Sugreeva's truthful account of a past event, and instead Vali chose to believe that Sugreeva wanted to usurp him. This lack of rational and considerate thought leads Rama to side with Sugreeva and kill Vali without listening to Vali's version of events. However, as Vali dies, Rama convinces him that even though he's a monkey, he is capable of accessing and using a more nuanced and human system of conduct and thought. This allows Vali to find eternal peace in the afterworld.

Ravana is a rakshasa (demon) with ten heads and ten sets of arms, and is the king of the island Lanka. Long before Rama's birth, Ravana acquired powers from the gods Brahma and Shiva through prayer and sacrifices. Because of this immense power, Rama became evil and now wants to destroy the world and the gods, and create havoc wherever he goes. Ravana is very lustful; he keeps many women in addition to his wife for his pleasure, though he's cursed to die if he touches a woman without her consent. His lust leads him to kidnap Sita after his sister, Soorpanaka, comes to him with stories of Sita's beauty and Rama's ferocity in protecting her. However, because Sita resists Ravana, Ravana digs under Sita's feet and picks her up from the ground she stands on—so as to not touch her—and then imprisons her with a number of women who are tasked with breaking down Sita's defenses to make her agree to have sex with Ravana. Rama finally kills Ravana by countering Ravana's evil and destructive weapons with defensive weapons that provide strength and clarity.

Kaikeyi is Dasaratha's favorite wife and the mother of Bharatha. Though she's a kind and generous woman at heart, her companion Kooni encourages Kaikeyi to behave jealously and blackmail Dasaratha into crowning Bharatha king instead of Rama. Kaikeyi is able to do this because she saved Dasaratha's life years ago and he granted her a boon in thanks, which she chose to redeem at a later date. When Rama returns from exile, Kaikeyi accepts him as the rightful king and appears to have realized the error of her earlier actions.

King Janaka is Sita's adoptive father and the king of Mithila. He cares deeply for Sita, and to protect her from possibly having to marry an unworthy man, he declares that any suitor must be able to string Shiva's bow, a massive bow and a family heirloom. Though he fears Sita might never marry because of this, he feels that he cannot go against his word and do away with the condition.