Possible Clues:

• Author Santha __ Rau
• Protagonist in many a Diwali story
• Sakatchewan village
• Chivalrous avatar of Vishnu
• Arthur C. Clarke’s “Rendezvous With ___”
• Incarnation of Vishnu in a Sanskrit epic
• Sita's love, in Hindu lore
• He’s celebrated on the ninth day of Chaitra
• Hindu deity of virtue
• Hero aided by the monkey king Sugriva