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Ramayana · Chapter 3

The Birth of Ram and His Brothers

·Ramayana·6 min read
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Ramayana
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King Dasharatha had wealth, loyal counsellors, and a flourishing capital, but he had no children. As the years passed, his longing to become a father grew together with his concern for Ayodhya's future.

When he asked his advisers for guidance, the royal charioteer and counsellor Sumantra remembered an old prophecy. A wise sage named Sanatkumara had once said that Rishyasringa would help Dasharatha obtain the children he desired.

Rishyasringa was the forest-raised son of Sage Vibhandaka. He had spent his early life studying at his father's hermitage and knew little of the world beyond the forest. When the neighbouring kingdom of Anga suffered a terrible drought, his arrival was followed by long-awaited rain. King Romapada welcomed him with great honour, and in time Rishyasringa married Shanta.

Some traditions describe Shanta as Dasharatha's daughter who was raised by Romapada, while the Bala Kanda passage followed here presents her as Romapada's daughter.

Years later, when Dasharatha sought guidance for the ceremonies in Ayodhya, he remembered the respected sage. He travelled personally to Anga, renewed his friendship with Romapada, and respectfully invited both Rishyasringa and Shanta to Ayodhya. They accepted, and the royal household welcomed them warmly.

Dasharatha welcomes Rishyasringa and Shanta to Ayodhya

Rishyasringa agreed to guide the ceremonies. Preparations began for an ashvamedha, an ancient royal rite centred on a consecrated horse, followed by a rite seeking children. Workers prepared the ceremonial ground on the northern bank of the Sarayu. Messengers invited rulers, relatives, teachers, and guests. Lodgings and food were arranged not only for honoured visitors but also for the many people whose labour made the gathering possible.

The source describes the ceremony at length: fires, offerings, recitations, gifts, formal duties, and debates among learned participants. This was not a private wish made in a quiet room. It was a major royal undertaking governed by the ritual world of the poem.

While preparations continued in Ayodhya, another concern brought the devas before Brahma.

Ravana, ruler of Lanka, had gained extraordinary protection through a boon. Secure in his power, he oppressed beings in many realms and disrupted sacred observances. The devas asked how his violence could be stopped.

Brahma remembered the limit within Ravana's own request. Ravana had sought protection from powerful celestial and supernatural beings, but in his pride he had not asked to be invulnerable to human beings. He had dismissed them as too weak to matter.

The devas then appealed to Vishnu. They asked him to enter the human world as the sons of Dasharatha and bring Ravana's unchecked power to an end.

Vishnu agreed. The birth of the princes would therefore answer two needs at once: the sorrow of a family without children and the wider world's need for courage against oppression.

The Birth of Ram and His Brothers — illustration

Back in Ayodhya, the concluding rite was underway when a radiant being rose from the sacrificial fire. He appeared dark and powerful, dressed in red, holding a golden vessel covered with silver. Inside was payasa, a sacred sweet preparation.

“The gods have sent this,” he told Dasharatha. “Give it to your queens. Through it, the sons you have hoped for will be born.”

Dasharatha received the vessel reverently. He did not give all of it to one person. Valmiki carefully records how he divided it.

He gave half to Kausalya. From the portion that remained, he gave half to Sumitra. He gave half of what then remained to Kaikeyi. The final portion he gave again to Sumitra.

Dasharatha carefully shares the sacred payasa with Kausalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi

The three queens received their shares with joy. In time, signs appeared that children were on the way, and the palace's long waiting turned into preparation.

Beyond Ayodhya, the devas also prepared helpers for the work ahead. They caused powerful vanara and bear heroes to be born, each carrying some measure of celestial strength. Valmiki names many of them and their lineages: Vali, Sugriva, Nala, Nila, Tara, Gandhamadana, Mainda, Dvivida, Sushena, Sharabha, and others. Brahma had already brought forth the ancient Jambavan. The wind-god became the father of Hanuman, whose speed, intelligence, and courage would one day become essential to Ram's search for Sita.

This did not mean the heroes would act like pieces in a plan without wills or histories of their own. Each would make choices, form loyalties, commit errors, and face consequences. But the world into which Ram was born was already gathering the companions his journey would require.

After the passing of the appointed months, the palace filled with celebration.

Kausalya gave birth to Ram. Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharata. Sumitra gave birth to two sons, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

The poem connects each prince with Vishnu while also giving each a distinct place within the family. Ram was the eldest. Bharata would grow into a man unwilling to take a kingdom through injustice. Lakshmana would become deeply devoted to Ram, and Shatrughna would share a close bond with Bharata.

On the proper day, the family priest Vashishtha gave the children their names. Gifts were distributed. Musicians performed, and people throughout Ayodhya celebrated.

As the boys grew, they studied sacred learning, statecraft, the use of weapons, and the responsibilities of their family. Dasharatha loved all four sons. The alliances most familiar from the later story began to appear early: Lakshmana delighted in being near Ram, while Shatrughna was especially attached to Bharata.

No one celebrating in the palace could yet see every forest path, friendship, separation, or trial ahead. For that moment, the long-awaited children were simply held, named, taught, and loved.

And Ayodhya, which had waited so long for its next generation, rang with the news of four births.

How other traditions tell it

Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas tells the births within a more explicitly devotional celebration of the Divine taking human form. Familiar festival songs and later performances often expand the joy in Ayodhya beyond Valmiki's particular sequence. Kamban's Ramavataram likewise gives the incarnation and royal births its own Tamil poetic and theological emphasis.

The distribution of the payasa, the relationship of Shanta to Dasharatha, the preliminary story of Rishyasringa, and the named births of Ram's future allies can differ in detail or prominence across tellings. This story follows Valmiki's Bala Kanda sequence and keeps those elements visible rather than compressing the princes' birth into a single miraculous sentence.

Source

Primary story based on the Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda, Sargas 8-19. It retains Sumantra's remembered prophecy, a child-appropriate summary of Rishyasringa's connection to Anga, the invitation to Rishyasringa and Shanta, the royal ceremonies, the devas' appeal, Vishnu's decision, the payasa and its distribution, the birth of future allies, the four princes' births, naming, and early bonds. This is a newly written adaptation for children, not a direct translation.

References used for the series record

The moral of the tale

“Hope grows when people accept help, prepare with care, and share what they receive.”