Who Is Dasharatha (Dasaratha)?
The king of Kosala who loves Rama dearly
Dasharatha is the king of Kosala in the Ramayana, ruling from the capital city of Ayodhya. He is the father of four princes: Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna.
Having gone many years without children, the king has the sage Rishyashringa perform a ritual to bring him sons. A being appears from the sacred fire and presents him with a divine rice pudding. The king shares it among his three queens, and four princes are born. In Episode 1, he is torn with doubt when Vishvamitra asks for Rama. But after the royal priest Vasishtha reminds him that a promise must never be broken, he sends his son away.
Although he loves Rama more than anyone, Dasharatha is later forced to banish Rama to the forest because of a promise he once made to Queen Kaikeyi.
Episodes featuring this character2
NEWEpisode 1
The Boy Whose Arrow Was Too StrongRamayana: Bala Kanda (The Book of Youth)
A poet's grief over a slain bird becomes a song, and that song becomes the story of a prince. In Episode 1, young Rama leaves his father's side to travel with a stern sage, and learns for the first time how great his own power is, and how frightening.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 2
Whoever Draws the Bow Wins the BrideSita's Swayamvara (The Bow of Shiva)
No king could even lift the divine bow, yet young Prince Rama bows to his teacher and quietly draws it. A wedding to Sita, daughter of the earth, follows—but on the road home, an axe-bearing sage named Parashurama awaits with a trial of his own.
19 pages