Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c9.124

c9.124

Only Vasiṣṭha and Sumantra were told about the curse, which, though a cause for great sorrow, implied that Daśaratha would have sons. Vasiṣṭha, therefore, advised Daśaratha to get the yajña, called putrakāmeṣṭi performed by Ṛsyaśṛṅga. Accordingly the King invited his daughter Śāntā and his son-in-law, Ṛsyaśṛṅga to Ayodhyā, and the yajña began. Ṛsyaśṛṅga made offerings in the sacred fire chanting the putrakāma hymn. Then a divine person arose from the fire with a golden vessel full of pudding (nectar of the Devas) and disappeared again in the fire after giving the vessel to Ṛsyaśṛṅga. Ṛsyaśṛṅga handed it over to Daśaratha, who as advised by the maharṣi divided the pudding between Kausalya and Kaikeyī. They gave a part of their shares of the pudding to Sumitrā also. The three queens conceived, and in due course of time Kausalya and Kaikeyī delivered a son each and Sumitrā two sons. The son of Kausalya was named Rāma, the son of Kaikeyī, Bharata, and sons of Sumitrā were named Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa).