Shri Ram
The seventh avatar of Vishnu and hero of the Ramayana, revered as the ideal king and embodiment of righteousness (dharma).
Who Shri Ram is
Ram is the seventh avatar of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana, born in Ayodhya to King Dasharatha. He's revered as maryada purushottam — the ideal man who upheld righteousness (dharma) even at great personal cost, including fourteen years of exile he accepted without complaint to honour his father's word.
The story the Ramayana tells
Exiled alongside his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, Ram's story turns on Sita's abduction by the demon king Ravana, and the war to rescue her — fought with an army of vanaras led by Hanuman, who became Ram's most devoted follower in the process. Ram's eventual victory and return to Ayodhya after fourteen years is what Diwali, the festival of lights, commemorates.
Symbols and family
Ram is typically shown holding a bow (his weapon of choice, won by breaking Shiva's bow to marry Sita) and is usually depicted alongside Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman together. His reign in Ayodhya, Ram Rajya, is held up as the model of just, righteous governance.
How he's worshipped
Ram Navami, marking his birth, is his major festival. The simple Shri Ram Mantra and recitation of the Ramcharitmanas (Tulsidas's retelling of the Ramayana) are among the most common ways devotees connect with him, alongside the many temples dedicated to him across India, most notably in Ayodhya.