Here is the Jain Ramayan (Jain telling of the Ramayana), in simple language and with main events in order.

Jain Ramayan is mainly based on:

• Āchārya Vimalsūri’s Paumacariya (Prakrit)
• Āchārya Ravisena’s Padmapurāṇa (Digambar)
• Āchārya Hemachandra’s Triṣaṣṭi Śalākā Puruṣa Charitra (Śvetāmbara)

In Jain view:

• Rāma (Padma / Padmachandra) = 8th Balabhadra
• Lakṣmaṇa (Nārāyaṇa) = 8th Vasudeva
• Rāvaṇa = 8th Prativāsudeva

The story is long; below is a detailed but still simplified flow.

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1. Births and background

King Daśaratha and Ayodhyā

• In Ayodhyā rules King Daśaratha, a noble Kṣatriya of Ikṣvāku dynasty.
• His queens include Kauśalyā, Kaikeyī, and Sumitrā (names and number of queens can vary slightly across Jain texts).
• Auspicious dreams indicate that great Śalākā Puruṣas will be born to the queens.

Birth of the princes

• To Kauśalyā is born Padma (Rāma).
• To another queen (often Sumitrā) is born Lakṣmaṇa (Nārāyaṇa).
• Bhārata and Śatrughna are also born in the royal family.
• From childhood, Rāma is gentle, truthful, compassionate, and inclined to ahiṃsā.
• Lakṣmaṇa is brave, powerful, more aggressive – the Vasudeva type who will handle the violent side of events.

Sītā’s birth (Digambar vs Śvetāmbara)

• Digambar texts (Paumacariya, Padmapurāṇa):

- Sītā is born to Rāvaṇa and Mandodarī. - Astrologers predict that she may cause destruction to Rāvaṇa’s clan. - Afraid of this, she is placed in a box and set adrift; she is later found and adopted by King Janaka of Videha and raised as his daughter.

• Śvetāmbara accounts (Hemachandra etc.):

- Often emphasize Sītā as Janaka’s daughter; some versions also accept an “adopted” or “found in the field” motif.

• In both, Sītā is pure, modest, and later walks on the path of renunciation.

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2. Education and early life

• Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa receive royal education:

- martial arts (allowed to Kṣatriyas), - politics, administration, - and also listen to sermons of Jain sadhus, learning about karma, ahiṃsā, and the path to mokṣa.

• Rāma is always careful to avoid unnecessary violence.
• Lakṣmaṇa is a powerful warrior, meant by destiny to confront the Prativāsudeva (Rāvaṇa).

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3. Sītā’s svayaṃvara and marriage

• In Videha, King Janaka holds a svayaṃvara for Sītā.
• A great bow (in some Jain texts not divine but extremely heavy) is placed; the task is a test of strength and worthiness.
• Rāma successfully performs the task (lifts / strings / handles the bow according to the version).
• Sītā chooses Rāma as her husband.
• Marriage of Rāma–Sītā takes place with great joy and dignity.
• In some Jain accounts, other princes also get suitably married around this period.

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4. Exile of Rāma

• In Ayodhyā, Daśaratha plans to make Rāma the heir apparent.
• Due to palace politics and earlier boons given to Kaikeyī, a turn of events forces:

- Rāma to accept exile, - Lakṣmaṇa to go with him out of love and loyalty, - and Sītā, though advised to stay, chooses to follow her husband.

• Rāma accepts this calmly, seeing it as fruit of karma and an opportunity to practice detachment.
• The three leave Ayodhyā and go to live in forests and hermitages, following simple life and restraint.

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5. Life in the forest

• Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa live among sages and ascetics.
• They:

- respect Jain and other sādhus, - hear dharma discourses, - practice self-control, forgiveness, and partial fasting.

• They protect hermitages from violent beings, but Rāma is always reluctant to kill; Lakṣmaṇa handles most of the hard fighting.
• Their life is one of simplicity, devotion, and non‑attachment, despite being royal.

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6. Rāvaṇa and his character

• Rāvaṇa, king of Laṅkā, is:

- highly learned in scriptures and sciences, - master of many vidyās (supernormal skills), - but ruled by anger, pride, lust, and greed.

• As a Prativāsudeva, his destiny is to clash with the Vasudeva (Lakṣmaṇa).
• He rules a prosperous Laṅkā, but commits violence, indulges in passions, and misuses his powers.

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7. Abduction of Sītā

• During forest life, in a well‑known episode, Rāvaṇa becomes attracted to the beauty and virtues of Sītā.
• Using tricks (often involving a magical illusory form to separate Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa from Sītā), Rāvaṇa abducts Sītā and takes her to Laṅkā.
• According to Digambar texts, since Sītā was originally born to Rāvaṇa and then lost, Rāvaṇa does not know she is actually his own daughter; thus moral complications of “abducting one’s daughter-in-law” do not arise.
• In Laṅkā, Sītā:

- remains chaste, devoted, and firm in dharma, - refuses all of Rāvaṇa’s advances, - lives simply, absorbed in spiritual thoughts.

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8. Alliance with Sugrīva and Hanumān

• Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa search for Sītā.
• They meet Sugrīva, a powerful leader of a Vidyādhara / Vanara clan:

- In Jain texts, Vanaras are not monkeys, but special human clans with extraordinary powers and vidyās (like flying machines, special weapons, etc.).

• Sugrīva has been deprived of his kingdom by his brother Vāli.
• Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa help Sugrīva recover his kingdom:

- Rāma again avoids direct killing as far as possible, keeping consistency with his ahiṃsā‑leaning nature.

• Hanumān, a great devotee and Vidyādhara hero, becomes a central supporter of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa.
• Hanumān’s devotion, courage, and self‑control are highlighted. He often follows vows similar to Jain discipline (restraint, celibacy, truthfulness).

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9. Search for Sītā and preparation for war

• With Sugrīva’s and Hanumān’s help, the place of Sītā’s captivity in Laṅkā is discovered.
• Hanumān crosses the sea (by vidyā or special means) and:

- locates Sītā, - gives her Rāma’s message, - gives assurance that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa will come for her.

• Back in Laṅkā, Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s brother, advises Rāvaṇa:

- “Return Sītā, avoid adharma and violence.”

• Rāvaṇa, due to ego and anger, rejects this good advice.
• Vibhīṣaṇa finally leaves Rāvaṇa and joins Rāma, choosing dharma over family attachment.

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10. The great war: Lakṣmaṇa kills Rāvaṇa

Here Jain Ramayan differs strongly from the popular Hindu version.

• A huge war is fought between Rāma’s side and Rāvaṇa’s forces:

- Many powerful warriors, use of various vidyās, special weapons.

• Throughout, Rāma tries to maintain his vows, avoid killing, and fight only as needed for dharma.
• As per Jain cosmology:

- the Vasudeva (Lakṣmaṇa) must kill the Prativāsudeva (Rāvaṇa).

• In the final battle:

- Rāvaṇa uses his mightiest weapons, - but karmic destiny and misuse of power weaken him. - Lakṣmaṇa confronts him directly.

• In many Jain tellings, a special weapon of Rāvaṇa (like a cakra) refuses to harm the Vasudeva (Lakṣmaṇa) and instead comes into Lakṣmaṇa’s control.
• Lakṣmaṇa then kills Rāvaṇa, fulfilling the destined pattern of Vasudeva–Prativāsudeva.
• Rāma remains the upholder of dharma yet personally non‑violent, consistent with his future as a Jain muni.

After the war:

• Vibhīṣaṇa is made ruler of Laṅkā as a just and dhārmik king.
• Sītā is freed and respectfully reunited with Rāma.

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11. Return to Ayodhyā and reign

• Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa, and others return to Ayodhyā.
• Rāma is crowned king; his rule is just, compassionate, and orderly.
• He supports dharma, respect for sādhus, and encourages charity and ethical living.
• However, karmic consequences of violence in war especially fall heavily on Lakṣmaṇa, as he was the killer of Rāvaṇa and other warriors.
• Jain Ramayan uses this to show that even “justified” violence brings heavy karma.

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12. Sītā’s ordeal and renunciation

• In some Jain versions, due to public talk and suspicion, an episode similar to a fire-ordeal appears:

- Sītā stands firm in her purity and faith. - The event ultimately leads to Sītā leaving worldly life.

• Sītā accepts Jain dīkṣā (becomes a nun in many Jain versions) or at least leads a strict ascetic life.
• She practices:

- austerities, - meditation, - complete celibacy and detachment.

• Through this, she attains a very high spiritual state, and in the longer karmic scheme, liberation.

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13. Lava and Kuśa

• Sītā bears twins Lava and Kuśa (details vary slightly among texts).
• In some tellings:

- They grow up away from Ayodhyā at first, near āśramas. - Eventually they meet Rāma, and their identity is recognized.

• They too are shown as noble, and many Jain accounts describe their later renunciations and spiritual progress as well.

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14. Renunciation and mokṣa of Rāma

• After many years of rule, Rāma feels deep vairāgya (dispassion):

- He has seen the suffering of war, - the impermanence of kingdom, relationships, and body, - and understands the law of karma clearly.

• Rāma renounces his kingdom, wealth, and pleasures.
• He takes Jain monk dīkṣā:

- follows great vows (ahiṃsā, satya, asteya, brahmacarya, aparigraha), - practices deep meditation and severe tapas, - gives powerful sermons on right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct.

• Over time, he destroys his remaining karmas, attains keval‑jñān (omniscience), and ultimately mokṣa (liberation).
• Jain tradition mentions his mokṣa at a sacred place (e.g. Tungi Giri is often associated with Rāma’s nirvāṇa in Śvetāmbara tradition).

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15. Fate of Lakṣmaṇa and Rāvaṇa

• Lakṣmaṇa, as Vasudeva, did great service to dharma, but:

- he killed Rāvaṇa and many others in war. - For this violent karma, he is reborn in hellish realms after his life. - Later, after these karmas are exhausted, he will again be born in higher forms and eventually attain liberation.

• Rāvaṇa, due to:

- extreme violence, - arrogance and lust, - and refusal to listen to good advice, also falls to hellish births.

• Yet, Jain dharma is karmic, not eternal condemnation:

- After suffering those results, Rāvaṇa too will have chances to rise higher and ultimately attain mokṣa in very far future lives.

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16. Essence of Jain Ramayan

Key Jain principles shown through the story:

1. Real heroism is non‑violence

- The Balabhadra (Rāma) avoids direct killing. He becomes a monk and attains keval‑jñān and mokṣa.

1. Violence, even “for a cause”, has karmic result

- Lakṣmaṇa fights to destroy adharma but still bears heavy karmic consequences.

1. Passions destroy even the mighty

- Rāvaṇa is learned and powerful but falls due to anger, pride, deceit, and greed.

1. Renunciation is the highest victory

- Rāma, Sītā, and many others finally turn to dīkṣā, tapas, and samyaktva (right faith).

1. Vanaras are human vidyā‑clans, not animals

- This keeps the story within Jain cosmology of various human‑like races with special vidyās.

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17. Digambar–Śvetāmbara differences (brief)

• Both accept:

- Rāma as 8th Balabhadra, - Lakṣmaṇa as 8th Vasudeva, - Rāvaṇa as 8th Prativāsudeva, - Rāma’s final dīkṣā and mokṣa, - Lakṣmaṇa and Rāvaṇa going to hell after this life.

• Main differences:

- Sītā’s birth (Rāvaṇa’s daughter then adopted by Janaka – strongly emphasized in Digambar texts; Śvetāmbara texts vary but mostly keep her as Janaka’s daughter or adopted). - Some details of episodes (exact nature of ordeal, side characters, geographical details, etc.).

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For a simple Jain-focused explanation of Jain Ramayan from JainKnowledge, you can read more here