Why did King Dasharatha perform Putrakameshti Yagna?

King Dasharatha had no children despite having three queens. On the advice of Guru Vashishth, he invited Sage Shringi to perform the Putrakameshti Yagna to obtain divine blessings for progeny.

On which date was Lord Ram born?

Lord Ram was born on the ninth day (Navami) of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Chaitra, under the Punarvasu nakshatra, at noon. This day is celebrated as Ramnavami.

Who were the four sons of King Dasharatha?

Ram was born to Queen Kausalya, Bharat to Queen Kaikeyi, and twins Laxman and Shatrughna were born to Queen Sumitra. All four were incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

Why did Vishwamitra take Ram and Laxman with him?

Sage Vishwamitra needed protection for his yagna from demons Tadaka, Maricha, and Subahu. He asked King Dasharatha for Ram and Laxman, knowing they were incarnations of Lord Vishnu capable of vanquishing the demons.

RamayanaValmiki Ramayana, Balkanda

श्री राम जन्म कथा

Birth of Lord Ram

RamDasharathaKausalyaSumitraKaikeyiVishwamitra

Tretayug mein Ayodhya nagri Suryavanshi Raja Dasharatha ke shasan mein atyant samriddh aur dharmaparayan thi. Maharaj Dasharatha ek pratapi, nyayapriya aur dharmatma raja the. Unki teen raniyan thin — Kausalya, Sumitra aur Kaikeyi. Parantu itni samriddhi aur aishwarya ke bawajood Raja Dasharatha ke hriday mein ek gahra dukh tha — unki koi santan nahi thi.

Raja Dasharatha ne apne Kulaguru Vashishth se is vishay par paramarsh kiya. Maharshi Vashishth ne unhe bataya ki Shringi Rishi ke dwara Putrakameshti Yagna karwane se unhe putra prapti hogi. Raja Dasharatha ne tatkal Shringi Rishi ko aamantrit kiya aur Ayodhya mein vidhi-vidhan se yagna ka aayojan kiya gaya.

Putrakameshti Yagna atyant bhavya tha. Samast devta us yagna ko dekhne aaye. Yagna ki agni se ek divya purush prakat hua jisne apne haathon mein ek swarn patra mein divya kheer (payas) dharan kar rakhi thi. Us divya purush ne Raja Dasharatha se kaha — "Yeh divya kheer apni raniyon mein baant do. Iske sevan se tumhe putra ratna ki prapti hogi."

Raja Dasharatha ne woh divya kheer apni teenon raniyon mein vibhajit kar di. Kausalya aur Kaikeyi ko adhik bhaag mila, aur Sumitra ko donon raniyon ne apne-apne hisse mein se kuch bhaag diya. Is prakar Sumitra ko do bhaag prapt hue.

Samay aane par Chaitra maas ke Shukla Paksha ki Navami tithi ko, Punarvasu nakshatra mein, madhyahn ke samay, Rani Kausalya ke garbh se Bhagwan Vishnu ne Shri Ram ke roop mein avatar liya. Sara Ayodhya aanand se bhar gaya. Aakash mein devtaon ne pushpavarsha ki, dundubhi bajne lagin, aur apsarayen nritya karne lagin.

Kaikeyi ke garbh se Bharat ka janm hua, aur Sumitra ke garbh se do putra — Laxman aur Shatrughna ka janm hua. Laxman ka vishesh anurag Ram se tha aur Shatrughna Bharat ke atyant nikat the. Charon rajkumar atyant tejaswi, balwan aur gunwan the.

Maharshi Vashishth ne charon rajkumaron ka namkaran sanskar kiya. Jyeshth putra ka naam 'Ram' rakha gaya jiska arth hai 'jo sabke hriday mein raman kare'. Gurukul mein charon bhaiyon ne Ved, shastra aur shashtra ki shiksha prapt ki. Ram sarvgun sampann the — ve dhanurvidya mein nipun, Vedon ke gyaata, aur Maryada Purushottam the.

Ek din Maharshi Vishwamitra Ayodhya padhare aur Raja Dasharatha se Ram aur Laxman ko apne yagna ki raksha ke liye maanga. Raja Dasharatha pehle toh bhayabhit hue, parantu Guru Vashishth ke samjhane par unhone donon rajkumaron ko Vishwamitra ke saath bhej diya. Vishwamitra ne Ram ko Bala aur Atibala vidya pradan ki aur Ram ne Tadaka rakshasi ka vadh kiya.

Is prakar Bhagwan Vishnu ne dharma ki raksha aur adharma ke vinash ke liye Tretayug mein Shri Ram ke roop mein avatar liya. Ram ka janm keval ek rajkumar ka janm nahi tha, apitu yeh samast srishti ke kalyan ka shubharambh tha. Aaj bhi Chaitra Shukla Navami ko 'Ramnavami' ke roop mein manaya jaata hai.

॥ इति ॥

Significance

Shri Ram ka janm keval ek aitihasik ya pauranik ghatna nahi hai, balki yeh dharma, maryada aur aadarsh jeevan ka pratik hai. Bhagwan Vishnu ne jab-jab prithvi par adharm badha, tab-tab avatar liya. Ram ka avatar Ravan jaise atyachari rakshasson ke vinash aur dharma ki punarsthapna ke liye hua.

Putrakameshti Yagna hume sikhata hai ki dhairya, tapasya aur satkarma ka phal avashya milta hai. Raja Dasharatha ne varshon tak pratiksha ki, anek yagna aur tap kiye, aur antatah unhe char divya putron ki prapti hui. Yeh hume vishwas aur samarpan ka paath padhata hai.

Ramnavami ka utsav hume smaran karata hai ki jeevan mein maryada, dharma aur kartavya ka palan sarvopari hai. Shri Ram ka aadarsh jeevan — pita ki aagya ka palan, praja ka kalyan, aur satya ka marg — aaj bhi pratyek manushya ke liye prerna ka strot hai.

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

Valmiki Ramayana, Balkanda

Key Characters

Ram, Dasharatha, Kausalya, Sumitra, Kaikeyi, Vishwamitra

Tradition

This story is part of the Ramayana tradition, one of the pillars of Hindu history and spiritual wisdom.