The life story of Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST Daśaratha, Malay: Dasarata, Thai: Thotsarot) is narrated principally in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He was a descendant of Raghu and a king of Ayodhya. He was the father of Rama, the heroic prince of the Ramayana and an avatar of the god Vishnu according to Hindu tradition. Dasharatha had three wives: Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. Rama was the son of Kaushalya, Lakshman and Shatrughna were the sons of Sumitra, and Bharata was the son of Kaikeyi.
In the Ramayana
Four key events in the life of Dasharatha are described in the Ramayana:
- On hearing the great tales of Dasharatha, the demon king Ravana - whose ambition was to rule the three worlds - was filled with envy and sent messengers to the court of Dasharatha asking the king to pay homage and tribute to Ravana or face war. Dasharatha shot off arrows and told the messengers that, on their return, they would find the gates of Ravana's capital Lanka fastened shut by the arrows. Dasharatha was famous for his ability to hunt blind, by sound alone. During one of his hunting expeditions, he heard a noise resembling an elephant drinking water, and shot an arrow in that direction. To his chagrin, he found that he had instead shot a young boy. In his grief, the boy's father cursed the king that he too would one day suffer putrasoka (grief of separation from one's progeny) just like he and his wife were suffering. The couple then gave up their lives, not wanting to live after consuming water offered by their son's killer.
- These incidents in Dasharatha's life played havoc in the future course of events. After overcoming Ravana's curse by performing the horse sacrifice to obtain children, Dasharatha was blessed with four sons. When the boys were grown, Dasharatha decided to retire and anoint Rama, the eldest, the crown prince. But before the ceremony took place, the ambitious Kaikeyi asked him to make good the old promise. She demanded for the first boon that her son Bharata be crowned king instead of Rama, and for the second that Rama leave Ayodhya and live in exile for 14 years. The helpless king had to agree to her demands because as a Kshatriya by Dharma, he could not go back on his word. The dejected Dasharatha died of grief not long after Rama had gone into exile, unable to withstand the anguish of separation from his son. This fulfilled the curse of Sravana's father.
References
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