Dasharatha - Epic Characters of Ramayana - E-book - ePub

Dasharatha , Ajamaharaja and Indumathi's son, was better known as Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi's husband and Sri Rama's father, the king of Ayodhya. He ruled for 60, 000 years, was a courageous kshatriya and had mastered the Vedas and other branches of knowledge. His rule had a spiritual base and he was advised by sage Vashista and sage Vamadeva. As he had no children, he performed two yajnas after which his three queens gave birth to Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Shatrughna.
Reminding him of the two boons that were due to her from the king, Kaikeyi demanded that her son be made the king of Ayodhya against the popular choice of Rama. Later, when Viswamitra asked him to send Rama to help him in the conduct of a yajna, he was hesitant and even scared because it involved his young son. He was in constant turmoil after he was forced to keep his word to Kaikeyi. He could not tolerate life after the departure of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita to the forest and hence passed away.
When Rama killed the wicked Ravana, Dasharatha appeared in the sky and blessed Rama, Lakshmana and Sita. He was a rajarshi who was endowed with good qualities. However, he suffered because of his small weakness, that is, sometimes doing things without thinking.