Dasaratha

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Dasaratha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST Daśaratha) in the Hindu faith, was the king of Ayodhya and a descendant of Raghuvamsa. He was the father of Lord Rama, the heroic prince and an avatar of Lord Vishnu in the epic Ramayana. He had three wives, Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. The son of Kaushalya was Rama, sons of Sumitra were Lakshman and Shatrughna and the son of Kaikeyi was Bharata.

The life of Dasaratha was an eventful one. It is said that Dasaratha, during one of his hunting expeditions, heard a noise resembling that of elephant drinking water from a nearby waterhole, and shot an arrow in the direction. He was famous for his ability to shoot an arrow just by hearing the noise. Much to his chagrin, he found that he had instead shot a young boy called Sravana Kumar who was collecting water to quench the thirst of his blind parents. Sravana used to carry his parents everywhere on two pans of a balance supported on his shoulders. They were completely dependent on the boy and Sravana was inconsolable at the thought that they would be left without anybody to protect them. He requests the King to carry the water to his parents, as his dying wish. The old couple drink the water, not knowing that it was not being offered by their son. The king hesitantly, narrated the incident to them, who were mortally shocked. The old father cursed the king in grief, that he too would one day suffer Putrasoka (The grief of separation from one's progeny) just like they suffered at the moment. The old couple gave up their lives at the same instant, not wanting to live after consuming water offered by their son's killer.

Years later, Dasaratha represented the Devas in a battle against the Asuras, with Kaikeyi, one of his queens as his charioteer. In the course of battle, the axle of his chariot-wheel comes loose. Kaikeyi saves the king by using her hand as the axle. Touched by this, Dasaratha promises to grant Kaikeyi two boons when she wishes to avail of them.

These two incidents in Dasaratha's life play havoc in the future course of incidents. Rama being the eldest was anointed the crown prince. When it was time for Dashratha to renounce the throne, Kaikeyi, the favorite wife of Dashratha, asked him to make good the old promise. She demands

that her son Bharata be crowned king
that Rama leave Ayodhya and live in exile for 14 years.

The helpless king has to agree to her demands because as a Kshatriya by Dharma, he cannot go back on his words. Rama's story is vividly captured in the epic Ramayana.

The dejected king eventually dies, unable to withstand the anguish over separation from his son, thereby fulfilling the curse of Sravana's father.

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