One manuscript was authored by Tulsidas, and the other was written in Arabic in the 18th century, showcasing the text's appeal in West Asia and other parts of the world.

[26] Ramcharitmanas consists of seven Kānds (literally "books" or "episodes", cognate with cantos) and composed of approximately 12,800 lines, divided into 1,073 stanzas.

[25] Tulsidas compared the seven Kāndas of the epic to seven steps leading into the holy waters of Lake Manasarovar "which purifies the body and the soul at once".

It is customary in the Indian tradition of writing for the author to begin a new book with invocation to the gods to ensure that the sankalpa is finished unhindered.

Bāl Kāṇḍ begins with a hymn honouring the goddess Saraswati and the god Ganesha, the deities related to knowledge, wisdom, speech and auspiciousness.

[30] Ayodhyā Kāṇḍ begins with the famous verse dedicated to the god Shiva: May He in whose lap shines forth Parvati, the daughter of the mountain-king, who carries the celestial stream Ganga on His head, on whose brow rests the crescent moon, whose throat holds deadly poison & whose breast is graced by serpent-king, & who is adorned by the ashes on His body, may that chief of gods, the Lord of all, the Destroyer of the universe, the omnipresent Shiva, the moon-like Shankar, ever protect me.

[30] Araṇya Kāṇḍ's first verse again extols Shiva: I reverence Bhagavan Śańkara, the progeny of Brahmā, the very root of the tree of piety, the beloved, devotee of King Śri Rama, the full moon that brings joy to the ocean of wisdom, the sun that opens the lotus of dispassion, the wind that disperses the clouds of ignorance, who dispels the thick darkness of sin & eradicates the threefold agony & who wipes off all calumny and obloquy.

[30] Kiśkindhā Kāṇḍ commences with the following verse: Lovely as a jasmine & a blue lotus, of surpassing strength, repositories of wisdom, endowed with natural grace, excellent bowmen, hymned by the Vedas, & lovers of the cow & the host of Brāhmaņas, who appeared in the form of mortal men through their own Māyā (deluding potency) as the two noble scions of Raghu's lineage, the armours of true dharma, friendly to all & journeying in quest for Sita, may they Sri Rama & Laksmana both grant us Devotion.

[30] Sundar Kāṇḍ begins with a hymn in the praise of Rama: I adore the Lord of the universe bearing the name of Rama, the chief of the Raghu's line & the crest-jewel of kings, the mine of compassion, the dispeller of all sins, appearing in human form through His Māyā (deluding potency), the greatest of all gods, knowable through Vedānta (the Upanishads), constantly worshiped by Brahmā (the Creator), Śhambhu (Śivā), & Śeşa (the serpent-god), the bestower of supreme peace in the form of final beatitude, placid, eternal, beyond the ordinary means of cognition, sinless & all-pervading.

[30] Laṅkā Kāṇḍ begins with this hymn: I adore Śri Rama, the supreme Deity, the object of worship even of Śivā (the destroyer of Cupid), the Dispeller of the fear of rebirth, the lion to quell the mad elephant in the form of Death, the Master of Yogīs, attainable through knowledge, the repository of good qualities, unconquerable, attributeless, immutable, beyond the realm of Māyā, the Lord of celestials, intent on killing the evil-doers, the only protector of the Brāhmaņas, beautiful & dark complexioned as a cloud laden with moisture, who has lotus-like eyes & Supreme Brahma, who appeared in the form of an earthly king.

[30] Uttar Kāṇḍ begins with the following hymn: I unceasingly adore Śri Ramā, the praiseworthy lord of Jānakī, the chief of Raghu's lineage, possessed of a form greenish blue as the neck of a peacock & adorned with a print of Brahmāna's lotus-foot, which testifies to His being the greatest of all gods, rich in splendour, clad in yellow robes, lotus-eyed, ever-propitious, holding a bow & arrow in His hands, mounted on the aerial car named Puşpakā, accompanied by a host of monkeys & waited upon by His own brother Lakşmaņa.

[32] The Child Episode Tulsidas begins the story with an invocation to various deities, his guru and saints who have preceded him and those who will succeed him in the future.

Each of these stories is discussed in detail, with the primary message being that Rama incarnated on earth to protect the righteous who followed the path of Dharma.

This statement of Janaka angers Lakshman who retorts that no one should talk in this vain manner, when a gathering like this, has the presence of scions of the Sun Dynasty.

Dasharatha starts with a great marriage procession, consisting of Rama's family, friends and well wishers in addition to Shiva, Brahma and all Devas arrive in Mithila.

Queen Kaikeyi reminds him of the two boons he promised her and to his bewilderment, asks him to install her son Bharata as Prince Regent and send Rama into the forest for fourteen years.

Rama is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead incarnated on earth, yet he accepts his stepmother's request and decides to leave the kingdom as it serves his purpose as well.

She asks him to carry out his duty and rule Ayodhya, but Bharata cannot bear the thought of sitting on the throne with his father dead and his brothers in exile in the forest.

Maricha has already felt the power of Rama (as mentioned in Bālakāṇḍa) and is apprehensive, however, he thinks that he is going to die either way since Ravana will kill him in rage for refusing him.

Tulsidas says that Shabari washes the feet of Ram with tears from her eyes and feeds him half eaten wild berries to ensure he gets only sweet ones.

She recites that curse given to her would cure only when a huge monkey hits her and on the same day the starting of the end of Lankesh Ravan would be marked.

The deity of the seas tells Rama of the boon obtained by the monkey brothers Nila and Nala and that they have the power to build a bridge to link the seashore to Lanka.

In the subsequent passages of Uttar Kānd the biography of Saint Kakbhushundi is given, followed by a description of what is to be expected in the current age of Kali Yuga.

Nārad visits Vishnu at his abode and unable to control his pride, re-tells his episode with Kamadeva, ignoring all that Shiva had advised.

The fake saint advises that the king arrange the cooking of holy food (prasadam) to feed the bramanas, who would surely be in his favor for such an act of kindness.

He finally sees Ram, who is frantically searching for Sita and instantly joins his palms and prays "Glory to the Redeemer of the universe, who is Truth, Consciousness and Bliss".

Sati looks around and sees no oblations set apart for Shiva and the lack of respect of her father causes her mind to rage with great anger.

Brahma deduces that the time for Ram's birth is approaching and the heavenly beings all crowd over the skies to glimpse sight of the auspicious moment.

Kaushalya asks Ram to give up his current superhuman form and to start to indulge in childish sports that are dear to a mother's heart.

Losing his potency, Indra lost heaven to demons and sat prayerfully in a lotus flower for thousands of years in order to repent.