Sham S. Misri
King Dasharatha was the noble and courageous king. He was a descendant of
the Surya dynasty. He ruled over the kingdom of Kosala from the city of Ajodhya. He had three queens: Kausalya, Sumitra, and
Kaikeyi, Dasharatha was blessed with fame, glory, peace, and prosperity. But he
had one great sorrow; he did not have any children.
One day, King Dasharatha went hunting in the forest. He and
his men roamed the forest when suddenly they heard a gurgling sound in the
distance. Thinking it to be a animal drinking water, the king shot his arrow in
that direction.
When Dasharatha came to the spot he found a youth lying
seriously wounded by the arrow. He was Shravana Kumar, the only son of an old
and blind couple. He had come to fetch water to quench the thirst of his
parents resting in the forest. Shravana carried his old parents on his
shoulders, in a palanquin, where ever he went.
Even while dying, Shravana could only think of his helpless
parents. He held Dasaratha's hands and asked him to take the pitcher of water
to his parents. Unsuspectingly the old couple drank the water, but an extremely
sorrowful Dasharatha could not withhold the truth. He told Shravana's parents
how he had unknowingly killed their son.
Shocked by the news, the grieving parents cursed Dasharatha
with putrasoka, which meant that he would go through the same agony of child
loss.
Years later, this curse led to the exile of Rama, and Dasharatha
suffered the pain of separation from his favourite son.
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