1.1 THE BIRTH OF RAMA
Ayodhya was a magnificent city on the banks of the river Sarayu in Kosala Country. The people of the city lived a happy and contented life as they were ruled by a wonderful king called Dasharatha. He cared for his people very deeply. King Dasahratha had three wives, Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. Kaushalya was the eldest queen. Though the king loved all his wives deeply, it was Kaikeyi, his youngest queen who was his favourite.But in spite of leading such a good life. Dasahratha was still an unhappy man.This was because he had no children. He was getting old and had no son to ascend to the throne. Unable to see the king being sad, the sages advised him to undertake a yagna and pray for children. Heeding to their advice, he performed the yagna and pleased with him, Agni, the fire God, emerged out of the fire pit, handed over a cup containing sweetened milk to the king, and on seeing this, Dasahratha was delighted. He thanked Agni for this boon and in the royal chamber, gave Kaushalya half of the kheer. He divided the remaining kheer into two portions and gave one portion to Sumitra and the other one to Kaikeyi. Subsequently all the three queens gave birth to sons, Kaushalya gave birth to Rama, after which Bharata was born to Kaikeyi and later on Sumitra gave birth to Lakshmana and Shatrugna.King Dasahratha was very happy and so were the people of Ayodhya.With great rejoice, they celebrated the birth of the four princes. Dasharatha loved all his sons but Rama was his dearest. He was very proud of his handsome eldest son and could not bear to be away from him even for a moment.
1.2. THE FOUR BEST PRINCES
The four princes grew up to be strong and handsome. Under sage Vashistha's guidance, they excelled themselves in archery, riding and hunting. They also learnt about the holy books and how to look after the welfare of the people. They respected their Gurus and the elders and gained the love and affection of people of Ayodhya. The brothers loved each other very much too. Lakshmana was a very close companion to Rama. Bharatha and Shatrugna were the other two inseparables. King Dasharatha felt very proud of his sons. One day he was discussing with sage Vashishta about finding suitable brides for his sons. At that time a great sage called Vishwamitra came to the court of Dasharatha. The king was very happy to welcome him Ayodhya. After extending a warm hospitality he asked Vishwamitra "O great sage! Your visit has made me a very happy. Pray, tell me the purpose of your visit. I shall deem it a great honour to abide by your wish." Vishwamitra, pleased with the king's words told him "King Dasharatha! I am pleased with your hospitality. I have heard that you always keep up your word. That's why I am here. I about to perform a yagna but two Rakshasas, Mareecha and Subahu, pour blood and human flesh on the fire pit and pollute the Yagna. I cannot cast any curse on them as I am involved in sacred work. But I cannot perform the yagna till these demons are killed. Rama, your son, is the only valiant person who can kill them. Hence, please send him with me for ten days. As soon as the yagna is completed, I will send back Rama to Ayodhya." When aged king heard this request, he felt nervous about sending his young son to fight against the demons. “Respect Sage", He pleaded with Vishwamitra, "My dear son Rama is still very young. How can he fight against the Rakshass? Instead of Rama, I will send my entire army to help you in conducting yagna. I cannot bear to be separated from Rama and hence please spare me this agony." Vishwamitra was angry at Dasharatha's words."O king, you are going back on your word. I do not want anybody except Rama". So, saying, he decided to walk out of the court. At this juncture, Vashishta pacified him and told Dasharatha. “Do not hesitate to send Rama. It is not a difficult task for Vishwamitra to kill the Rakshasas, because he himself is very powerful. He wants to take Rama with him so that your son can learn to fight the Rakshasas even at this young age. Send Rama with him." Without any more hesitation, king Dasharatha blessed Rama and also Lakshmana who wanted to be with his brother and sent them with Vishwamitra. Vishwamitra and the two princes travelling barefoot first crossed the river Sarayu and then, the river Ganga. Rama and Lakshmana did not mind the hardship at all, as this was their chance to learn about many things from Vishwamitra. After many days of walking, they entered a thick forest where a rakshasi called Taraka lived. She had terrorized all the sages in the forest and hence Vishwamitra instructed Rama to kill her. Rama drew out his arrow and aimed it at Taraka. The ugly looking demoness charged towards him but was killed by Rama's arrow. Vishwamitra was very pleased with Rama and gifted him many powerful weapons. Rama accepted them gracefully and learnt from Vishwamitra about their use. The trio continued their journey and reached the spot where Vishwamitra was to perform the yagna. The Rishis of the Ashram were happy to have Rama in their midst. The princess rested for the night and from the next morning protected the yagna against the Rakshasas. Everything went on smoothly till the last day. On the last day of the yagna, suddenly, piece of flesh and blood fell into the sacred fire. When Rama looked up, he saw Mareecha and Subahu. The weapons were so strong and powerful that Mareecha was thrown into the sea hundreds of miles away while Subahu was engulfed in a ball of fire. All the Rishis were relieved that these evil demons were destroyed by Rama and joyously completed the Yagna. After conducting the yagna, Vishwamitra and the other Rishis left for the city of Maithili. Rama and Lakshmana accompanied them. This city was ruled by Janaka, loved and respected for his goodness. He had a daughter by name Sita. Janaka had found her in a ploughed field and had reared her as his own daughter. Sita was the loveliest princess and was also renowned for her strength of character. When she was of the marriageable age, Janaka had announced that whoever could string the Siva bow would wed her. This bow was not an ordinary bow. It was so huge that five thousand people were needed to lug it. Sage Vishwamitra knew about this bow and had purposely taken the young princes to Mithila. On their way to Mithila, they halted at an Ashram where Gautama, a sage, had once lived. Gautama had a wife called Ahalya who was extremely beautiful. Indra, the king of the heavens, desired her and in Gautama's absence, made love to her. The enraged Gautama cast a curse on Indra. He also cursed Ahalya "As you have cheated me, may you turn into a stone. You will be rid of this curse only when Sri Rama touches you" so saying, Gautama had gone away to the Himalayas to observe penance. Vishwamitra narrated Ahalya’s tragic story to Rama and instructed him "Ramachandra! Rescue Ahalya from this curse and give her a new life." Rama followed this advice and as soon as he touched the stone statue, Ahalya came to life. At that moment Gautama also returned to the ashram. Gautama and Ahalya were re-united thus.
