Ramayana Simplified: Part 2: Celebration in Ayodhya

The king of Kosala, Dasharatha was getting worried that he didn’t have any kids or successors to lead his kingdom after his death. Everyone advised the king to go hunting if that could relax the king’s mind.

The king set out for hunting. While he was hunting, from a distance, he heard a sound like the trumpeting of an elephant. He left arrows towards that side but the king was shocked to see that a blind man was accidentally hit by the arrows. The king apologized that it was an accident. The blind man said that he came there to fetch some water for his parents and requested the king to hand over some water to his parents. The blind man died then and there.

The king was again shocked to see that both the parents of the blind man were also blind. The king explained everything that happened, to the blind man’s parents. The blind couple cursed the kind that the king will die thinking about his son/children. The blind couple fell into the funeral pyre of their son. King Dasharatha became worried again.

The king approached the raja guru, Maharishi Vasishta. When Maharishi Vasishta heard this, he laughed and said that the king will be blessed with children as the curse was that the king will die thinking about his son/children. King Dasharatha became happy on hearing this.

Maharishi Vasishta advised conducting a ‘Puthrakameshti Yaga’ under the supervision of Maharishi Rishyasringa. He was the foster son of Maharishi Vivandaka. The Yaga was conducted. Towards the end of the Yaga, a kind of holy prasad came up. The prasad was handed over to the king, the king handed over the prasad to his 1st wife Kousalya, Out of four parts, Kousalya had one part of the prasad and handed over the rest to Kaikeyi, who also had one part. The rest was handed over to the king’s third wife, Sumithra, who had the remaining two parts of the prasad.

The three of them became pregnant, they gave birth to four beautiful sons. Kousalya gave birth to a son named Rama, Kaikeyi gave birth to one son, Bharatha whereas Sumithra gave birth to two sons, Lakshmana and Shatrughna, as she had two parts of the prasad. The people in Ayodhya became very happy with the birth of the four princes and celebrated the joy.

How can the king’s wives get pregnant by consuming a prasad?

This can be compared to what couples do in recent times if they don’t have any kids after a long time. They seek treatment and the doctor can prescribe medicines that can eventually help in the pregnancy. The prasad which was given to the king’s wives can be considered to be just like medicines.

Few Insights…

• It can be disappointing when a couple is not blessed with a child after a few years of marriage. Sometimes couples without kids tend to think about how lucky are those who are blessed with a kid without any struggles. But the people without kids should also think of another side when it comes to people with kids. There are several parents who would have got a child without any kind of struggles but some parents often face several challenges in bringing up their children. So, we go wrong when we assume that people with children are blessed with everything in life. When something goes right some other things can go wrong. No one in the world faces full positive experiences or full negative experiences.
• We notice how Kousalya and Kaikeyi handed over the prasad to the next person, having only one part of the prasad. The three wives of the king lived in harmony and peace and didn’t have any problems between them. That can be apparently seen from the way they shared the prasad. Kousalya or Kaikeyi could have had the prasad fully on their own without sharing with the other person. The peace and harmony in a family can be largely decided by us, even though there are external factors. We can make our family lives miserable, we can also enjoy our lives. The choice is ours!