Sumitra
Encyclopedia
Sumitra in the Indian Ramayana
epic, was the third of King Dasaratha
's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā. She was the mother of twins Lakshmana
and Shatrughna
. She came from the ancient kingdom of Kashi. She was supposed to be the wisest of the wives of Dasaratha. She was the one to first realize that Rama was the incarnation of Lord Narayana. She even encouraged Lakshmana to accompany Rama and serve him during his exile.
There is a popular story about why twins were born to Sumitra. Dasaratha, despite having three wives had no children and none of the queens had been able to give him an heir to the Ikshvaku dynasty
. The thought of his dynasty ending with him saddened Dasaratha and he was very eager to have a son who would take care of the throne of Ayodhya.
Guru
Vasistha
who was the raj (royal) purohit
of Ayodhya asked the King the reason for his sadness and the King conveyed his worries about the lack of a male heir to his dynasty. On Vasistha's request, Dasharatha did a Yagya at the end of which he gave a plate of sweets each to Kausalya
and Kaikeyi
and asked them to share their plates with the third queen Sumitra. Sumitra got one bite from Kausalya’s plate and one from Kaikeyi’s and thus gave birth to twins. With Kausalya and Kaikeyi each bearing one son. Sumitra’s sons were later named by guru Vasistha as Lakshmana and Shatrughana.
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
epic, was the third of King Dasaratha
Dasaratha
Dasharatha was a king of Ayodhya of the Ikshvaku dynasty whose life story is narrated principally in the Hindu epic Ramayana...
's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā. She was the mother of twins Lakshmana
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...
and Shatrughna
Shatrughna
Shatrughna was the youngest brother of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana . He is the twin brother of Lakshmana.-Birth and family:...
. She came from the ancient kingdom of Kashi. She was supposed to be the wisest of the wives of Dasaratha. She was the one to first realize that Rama was the incarnation of Lord Narayana. She even encouraged Lakshmana to accompany Rama and serve him during his exile.
There is a popular story about why twins were born to Sumitra. Dasaratha, despite having three wives had no children and none of the queens had been able to give him an heir to the Ikshvaku dynasty
Ikshvaku dynasty
The Ikshvaku dynasty, in Puranic literature, was a mythical dynasty founded by Ikshvaku, grandson of Vivasvan or Surya and son of Vaivasvata Manu. This dynasty is also known as . The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Harishchandra, Dilīpa, Sagara, Raghu, Rama and Prasenajit...
. The thought of his dynasty ending with him saddened Dasaratha and he was very eager to have a son who would take care of the throne of Ayodhya.
Guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
Vasistha
Vasistha
Vashist in the seventh, i.e the present Manvantara, and the Rajpurohit / Rajguru of the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty. He was the mānasaputra of Brahma. He had in his possession the divine cow Kamadhenu, and Nandini her child, who could grant anything to their owners...
who was the raj (royal) purohit
Purohit
Purohit in Indian religious context means a family priest, from Sanskrit , translated as: one placed foremost, from Puras meaning front, and hita, placed. Rajpurohit is a term used to denote a priest for a royal family or a king who was the authorized person that carried out rituals for the...
of Ayodhya asked the King the reason for his sadness and the King conveyed his worries about the lack of a male heir to his dynasty. On Vasistha's request, Dasharatha did a Yagya at the end of which he gave a plate of sweets each to Kausalya
Kausalya
Kausalya in the Indian Rāmāyaṇa epic was the eldest of King Daśaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā, she was the daughter of the King of the Kosala Kingdom. She was the mother of Rama, the king of Ayodhya, upon whom the story of the Ramayana is based....
and Kaikeyi
Kaikeyi
Kaikeyi , in the Hindu epic Rāmāyaṇa, was the second of King Daśaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā. She was the mother of Bharata...
and asked them to share their plates with the third queen Sumitra. Sumitra got one bite from Kausalya’s plate and one from Kaikeyi’s and thus gave birth to twins. With Kausalya and Kaikeyi each bearing one son. Sumitra’s sons were later named by guru Vasistha as Lakshmana and Shatrughana.