Ramayana

This epic story is based on the life of Rama, heir and then King of the throne of Ayodhya, in northern India. Different versions exist of this story. The authorship of the story is traditionally ascribed to Valmiki. Nowhere else would you find an example of an obviously literary work like the Ramayana, composed for personal aesthetic satisfaction, permeating the life and culture of a whole nation in the course of a few centuries - to such an extent that it becomes a religious authority as important as the Vedas themselves.