Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c9.516

c9.516

3) Ṛṣyaśṛṅga in Ayodhyā. King Daśaratha of Ayodhyā had no children for a long time. His Minister Sumantra advised him to invite Ṛṣyaśṛṅga to perform a yāga for the purpose. Lomapāda sent Ṛṣyaśṛṅga to Ayodhyā at the invitation of Daśaratha. He arrived at Ayodhyā and performed a yāga called Putrakāmeṣṭi. From the sacrificial fire there arose a dark monstrous figure, with a pot of pudding in his hand. Daśaratha received it from him and gave one half of it to Kauśalyā and the other half to Kaikeyī. Both of them gave half of their shares to Sumitrā. Thus Sumitrā got two shares while the other two wives of Daśaratha got only one share each. As a result Kauśalyā and Kaikeyī gave birth to a son, while Sumitrā had two sons. Kauśalyā's son was named Rāma, Kaikeyī's son was Bharata and Sumitrā’s sons were Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 14-16).