King Janak’s younger brother Kushadhvaja and his wife Chandrabhaga were parents of two daughters, Mandavi and Shrutakirti who married Lord Rama’s younger brothers, Bharata and Shatrughna.  When their marriage was confirmed by the sages, their parents were on a pilgrimage and King Janak took the decision on their behalf. When they were informed about the good news, they were overjoyed to wed their daughters in the Raghuvanshi dynasty.

While Sita is an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, her sisters, Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutakirti are believed to be incarnations of Lord Vishnu’s weapons Adisesha, Sudarshan, and Panchajanya.

As per Uttara Kanda, Mandavi and Shrutakirti along with Lord Ram and his brothers immersed their mortal coil into River Sarju better known as River Sarayu (the largest tributary of River Sharada) in Uttarakhand. Originating from Sarmul, Sarju flows through many cities joining Mahakali at Pancheshwar.

To be continued

After King Janaka discovered a child buried in the earth of Mithila who he adopted as his daughter and named Sita, his wife and he were blessed with another child, Urmila. Urmila was married to Lakshman and some historians consider her sacrifice bigger than Sita because while Sita accompanied her husband to exile, Urmila, a newly wed, was separated from her husband for 14 years.

As per Uttara Kanda, Urmila was the only one in the family who did not offer herself to River Sarju and there was a reason. Her sister, Goddess Sita before returning to earth, had extracted a promise from her that she would look after her children Luv and Kush. Urmila kept her promise and groomed Sita’s sons Lava and Kusha to become exemplary kings of Ayodhya. This was her second sacrifice for the family after being separated from her husband Lakshman for many years.

To be continued

All the three queens of King Dashrath were pregnant at the same time and all of them delivered sons. But there is a secret story of King Dashrath and Queen Kausalya’s first born, a daughter called Shanta who did not grow up in the palace of Ayodhya. There are many stories about why she is seldom mentioned in the Ramayan. One of the stories say that Ayodhya witnessed acute famine after her birth and King Dashrath was advised that her planetary charts were not in. favour of the kingdom and so King Dashrath to save his kingdom made a big sacrifice as a father. Shanta was given away to Kousalya’s sister Varshini married to Rompadh, king of Angadesh. Rompadh and Varshini were yearning for a child for years and brought up Shanta as the princess of Anagadesh.

The third story is the most intriguing and according to that, the Kosala kingdom was divided into North Kosala ruled by Dasaratha’s father and South Kosala ruled by Kausalya’s father. When Kausalya and Dasaratha came of age, their fathers decided to get them married and merged the North and South Kosala into one state. A year later, Dashrath and Kausalya’s first born arrived, a deformed baby. In their rush to merge the kingdoms what both the kings forgot was that Dasaratha and Kaushalya came from the same lineage and the deformed bay was a result of the couple coming from the same gotra. It is said that Shanta was a woman of virtues and knowledgeable about the vedas.  She was blessed that her deformity will be eliminated when she marries Sage Rishyashringa, (who performed athe putra kameshti yagna for King Dashratha to beget progeny), after which Shanta, Rama, Bharata, and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna were born.

To be continued

According to Hindu mythology Ravana was born to a great sage Maharishi Vishrava and his wife, princess Kaikasi. Kaikasi was the daughter of a powerful demon Sumali and his beautiful wife Ketumati who had taken refuge in the underworld. It is said that one day Sumali witnessed Kubera on his Pushpak Vimana in all his glory and had an idea. He inspired his beautiful daughter Kaikasi to seduce Maharishi Vishrava, and become his consort, so that her children would be as powerful as their father because Vishvara is considered a descendant of Lord Brahma. Sumali was planning to win the golden Lanka for the rakhasas. Kaikasi did what her father said. Rishi Vishrava fell for her beauty and charm and married her and through him conceived four children with him. Three sons, Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and daughter Surpanakha.

Though born to demons, Kaikesi was a kind and wise woman. She supported her daughter-in-law Mandodri in her protests with Ravan but Ravan paid no heed to either.  According to the Sundara Kanda of the Krittibasi Ramayana, a Bengali version Ramayana narrates that, witnessing the destruction of Lanka by Lord Hanuman, Kaikasi (mentioned as Nikasha) pleads with Vibhishana, to drill sense into his brother Ravana aware that Sita’s captivity will destroy Lanka and spell doom for the demons/ rakshasas.

To be continued

Mandodari was the daughter of Mayasura, the king of the demons or the asuras and Hema,
the celestial nymph or the apsara. It is said that Ravana walked into Mayasura’s home and
demanded Mandori’s hand in marriage. Mayasura was against Ravana and so was Mandodri
but both were helpless. Mandodri felt that she would transform Ravan and bring him on the
path of virtue but that did not happen. They had three sons: Meghanada (Indrajit), Atikaya
and Akshayakumara.
 
According to one version of the epic, Mandodari is the biological mother of Sita, the baby
King Janak discovers on a barren land wrapped in royal robe.  The legend reveals that Mandodri is the mother of Sita and Ravan her father but the mystery remains unexplained. Another
version says that Lord Hanuman tricked Mandodri into disclosing the arrow that would kill
her husband. The Telugu tale narrated in the Kuchipudi dance tradition, reveals that Ravana
asked Shiva for Parvati as his wife and Shiva created Parvati’s look-alike from a frog and
therefore the name – Mandodari.
To be continued

According to the legend Gyanvanti was a shudra and her beloved Shanntanu, a vaishya.
They married to different partners and broke the varna- ashrama dharma. Adultery was a
crime in Manu Smriti and so King Aja of Raghuvanshi dynasty in Ayodhaya  unctured
their vision  and adjudicated them to exile. Gyanvanti and Shantanu submitted to the Gods
and within a few years were blessed with a boy who they named Shrava Kumar. Shravan
Kumar was a devoted son and expected the same from his wife. His consort was good to him
but not his parents and sohe abandoned her and set out to fulfil their last last wish. Gyanwanti
and Shantanu desired to go on a pilgrimage and Shravan Kumar carried both his parents on
his shoulders from one sacred place to another.
It was while they were resting in a forest and Shravan Kumar went in search of water for his
thirsty parents that Shravan King Dashrath while hunting mistook him for an animal and
darted his arrow. When he realised his folly, it was too late. Shravan Kumar requested King
Dashrath to carry water for his parents but when Gyanvanti learnt her son was no more, she
collapsed and died. Shantanu was devastated by the loss of his son and his wife and cursed
King Dashrath that he must pine for his son the same way he pines for his son
 
To be continued

When princess Kaikeyi married King Dashrath and travelled from Kekeya to Ayodhya, her
favourite maid Manthara accompanied her to her new abode. Manthara was old and
hunchbacked and Kaikeyi’s father, King Aswapati felt that Kaikai will be happier with an old
companion in her new surroundings. Nobody knew at that time that Manthara would trigger
conflict in Ramayan. She resents queen Kaikeyi’s boundless love for her step son Ram and
repeatedly poisons her against the family. Kaikeyi resists her for a long time but when King
Dashrath decides to coronate Ram as his successor, Manthara instigates Kaikeyi to seek the
two boons King Dashrath promised her after saving his life on battlefront. Kaikeyi falls into
Manthara’s trap and asks 14-year exile for Ram and crown for her biological son Bharat.  
In some versions of the epic, the deities are projected to be against who Ram’s coronation and
lure Goddess Saraswati’s to make Manthara’s words come true.  In another story Rama is
supposed to have broken Manthara’s knee while playing stick- and-ball as a result she was
born hunch-backed in her next birth and determined to take revenge on the prince. 
 
To be continued

Queen three was Kaikeyi, princess of Kekeya, a land of horses. Kaikeya was the daughter of
king Asvapati and the sister of seven brothers. When Kaikeyi was a child, she was cursed by
a sage that she would become the most hated woman on the planet. It seemed unlikely
because she had impeccable manners and never seemed to affront anyone. She was revered as
a warrior in Kekeya and in Ayodhya and accompanied her husband Dasharatha on several
battles.
 
During a war held at the Dandaka Forest Dashrath was riding a broken chariot and unaware
of it. To prevent the cart wheel from falling out, Kaikeye inserted her left finger inside the
rotating wheel and continued to endure the pain till the war lasted. Dashrath felt indebted and
granted his wife two unconditional boons. For many years Kaikeyi had nothing to ask but
when the time came, Kaikeyi asked that her biological son Bharat should be made the king of
Ayodhya and her step son Ram should be sent to exile. 

Everyone misunderstood Kaikeyi except Ram. He knew that his Kaikeyi mata was a victim
of a curse and the curse had to come true
 
To be continued