In India, the worship of the god Ram is believed to have originated with the ancient deity Ram and his friend, the monkey god, Rhesus. It is the central religious practice in the Ramayana, the epic that tells the story of Ram, and is also a central part of the Hindu religious tradition.

The Ramayana, the most important of the Hindu epic stories, is a long narrative of the life of Ram, the king of the kingdom of Sri Lanka. The story is of a god-like character who was the son of a king and the king's sister. Ram's birth is the result of a divine act of will, wherein the god, Ram, decides to be born in a special cave on the night of a full moon.

In the story, Ram is sent to his kingdom to rule as a king. His kingdom is attacked by a group of monsters called the Kulin, who are the children of the devil, Vaayu. Vaayu's attack is foiled by the goddess, Sita.