http://india30.tripod.com/vramayana.htm Rama is regarded in Hinduism as the sat-purusa (ideal man) and the ideal husband. He is also one of the premiere avatars (god-incarnate).  Sita (Rama's wife) is the ideal wife in Hinduism.  Rama, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman (the monkey-god) are the main characters of the Ramayana which are worshipped by Hindus.  The plot of the Ramayana is that Lord Rama's wife Sita is kidnapped by the demon Ravana (the raksasa-king), and therefore Rama vanquishes Ravana and recovers Sita. The following is a Ramayana translator's summary of the final part of the Uttarakanda, the last book of Valmiki Ramayana: The seventh book of the Ramayana is en_title_d simply 'The Last Book' (Uttarakanda).... The last and in several ways the most interesting category of material in the Uttarakanda concerns the final years of Rama, his wife, and his brothers. Struggle, adversity, and sorrow seemingly behind him, Rama settles down with Sita to rule in peace, prosperity, and happiness. We see what looks like the perfect end to a fairy tale or romance. Yet the joy of the hero and heroine is to be short-lived. It comes to Rama's attention that, despite the fire ordeal of Sita, ugly rumors of her sexual infidelity with Ravana are spreading among the populace of Ayodhya. In dreadful conformity to what he sees as the duty of a sovereign, Rama banishes the queen, although she is pregnant and he knows the rumors to be false. After some years and various minor adventures, Rama performs a great horse sacrifice during which two handsome young bards appear and begin to recite the Ramayana. It turns out that these two, the twins Kusa and Lava, are in fact the sons of Rama and Sita who have been sheltered with their mother in the ashram of the sage Valmiki, author of the poem. Rama sends for his beloved queen, intending to take her back. But Sita has suffered too much. She calls upon the Earth, her mother, to receive her, and as the ground opens, she vanishes forever. Consumed by an inconsolable grief, Rama divides the kingdom between his sons, and then, followed by all the inhabitants of Ayodhya, enters the waters of the Sarayu river near the city and yielding up his life, returns at last to heaven as the Lord Visnu. These events bring to a close both the book and the poem itself.   [Goldman, Robert P.  The Ramayana of Valmiki: an Epic of Ancient India. Balakanda (vol. 1).  Pub.: Princeton University Press.  ISBN 0-691-06561-6.   Introduction pp.12-13]. As illustrated above, the earth opened up and devoured Sita; this was also a chastity test like the fire-chastity test, but unfortunately this time she dies and will not get to reside with Rama in Ayodhya even though he decides to accept her again.  By the way, the Ramayana epic was divinely revealed to the sage Valmiki before the events in it took place; this is why Rama's sons were able to recite the Ramayana in the Ramayana itself.  Rama, a divine god, drowns to death