Valmiki was originally a robber who was reformed by Narada giving him Rama's name. He wrote the original Ramayana consisting of 100 crore slokas. The present version has 24,000 slokas. It describes Rama's life and journey in 7 chapters over various locations. Key figures included Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Ravana and their interactions in Treta Yuga at locations like Ayodhya, Panchavati and Lanka. The story promotes virtues of dharma and righteousness.