page_title: Ramcharitmanas
section_title: Bāl Kāṇḍ
hierarchical_section_title: Ramcharitmanas / Narrative / Bāl Kāṇḍ
caption_attribution_description: English: Image showing the birth of the four divine sons of King Dasaratha. Dasaratha ruled a land called Koshala in northern India and his capital was Ayodha. In this image, Dasaratha is seated under a white canopy. Inside the palace, on the top floor to the left is Queen Sumitra with her twins. On the top floor to the right is Queen Kausalya with Rama. On the bottom floor is Queen Kaikeyi with Bharata. Meanwhile in the street, the people of Ayodhya dance and sing in the streets in celebration at the royal births.(Ramayana from Udaipur)
context_page_description: Ramcharitmanas, is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Goswami Tulsidas. The word Ramcharitmanas literally means "Lake of the deeds of Rama". It is considered one of the greatest works of Awadhi literature. The work has variously been acclaimed as "the living sum of Indian culture", "the tallest tree in the magic garden of medieval Indian poetry", "the greatest book of all devotional literature" and "the best and most trustworthy guide to the popular living faith of the Indian people".
  Tulsidas. Tulsidas was a great scholar of Sanskrit. However, he wanted the story of Rama to be accessible to the general public, as many Apabhramsa languages had evolved from Sanskrit and at that time few people could understand Sanskrit. In order to make the story of Rama as accessible to the layman as to the scholar, Tulsidas chose to write in Awadhi which was the language of general parlance in large parts of north India at the time. Tradition has it that Tulsidas had to face a lot of criticism from the Sanskrit scholars of Varanasi for being a bhasha poet.
context_section_description: The Child Episode
  Tulsidas begins the story with an invocation to various deities, his guru and saints who have preceded him and those who will succeed him in the future. Homage is paid to Valmiki for bringing the Ramayana to the devotees of Rama. Next are introduced and praised the various characters of the epic beginning with the birthplace of Rama, the holy city of Ayodhya. Praises are bestowed on Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya and Rama's father and his queens Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. Tulsidas then praises King Janaka (the father-in-law of Rama), and his family. He goes on to praise the brothers of Rama - Bharata, Lakshman & Shatrughna and sings the glories of Hanuman, the constant companion to Rama, Sugriva, the monkey king and Jambavan, the leader of bears. Next, the characters of Sita and Rama are introduced.
  The story of Ramcharitmanas is then underway. It begins with the meeting of two sages - Bharadwaj and Yajnavalkya. Bharadwaj asks Yajnavalkya to narrate in detail the story of Rama. Yajnavalkya begins with how Shiva came about retelling the story of Rama to his wife Parvati. (The great story of Sati's self-immolation, the destruction of her father Daksha's sacrifice, the rebirth of Sati as Parvati and her marriage to Shiva). Shiva explains five different reasons as to why Rama incarnated on earth in different ages Kalpa (aeon). Each of these stories is discussed in detail, with the primary message being that Rama incarnated on earth to protect the righteous who follow the path of Dharma. The story then moves to the birth of Ravana and his brothers. Post this point, the narration is done at different times by Shiva, Yajnavalkya, Kakbhushundi and Tulsidas.
  The story now moves to the abode of Brahma where Brahma and the other Hindu Devas are found mulling on the ways to rid the earth of Ravana and his excesses. Unable to find a solution, they pray to Shiva and ask him for his guidance on where to find the supreme God who will come to their rescue. Shiva tells them that they don't need to go anywhere to find the Supreme God for he resides in the hearts of his devotees. All the Devas then Pray to the supreme Brahman/Vishnu to rid the earth of the demons wreaking havoc on men as well as Devas. Brahman shows compassion to all and announces in an Akashvani that he will be born in the Sun Dynasty to save the Devas and His devotees from the demons.
  The story then moves to Ayodhya. One fine day, Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, realizes that he has become old and still issueless. He conveys his distress to sage Vasistha, the family guru, and seeks the way forward. Vasistha comforts Dasharatha and tells him that he will have four sons. Vasistha requests Rishyasringa to perform the Putrakām yajna (vedic yajna for the birth of sons). Tulsidas states that the birth of Rama and his brothers took place on the ninth day of the Chaitra month. It was the fortnight of the moon, known as the shukla period.
  The story then moves on and Rama and his brothers are now grown-up boys. The sage Vishvamitra arrives at Dasharatha's royal court where the King receives his eminent guest with great honour. Sage Vishvamitra lived in the forest and was performing great sacrifices. However, the demons Maricha and Subahu would always desecrate the ceremonial offerings. He knew that Rama had taken birth on earth to protect his devotees and so he decided to visit Dasharatha to ask him a favor. The sage asks the king to let his sons accompany him to the forest. Reluctantly the king agrees. Rama knew beforehand the intention of Vishvamitra in asking him to come along with him. He assures the sage that he would obey his commands. Lakshman kills Subahu and Rama kills Tataka and defeats Maricha, the dreaded demons.
  The story then moves to the deliverance of Ahalya. Rama, Lakshman and Vishvamitra venture on a journey and reach the beautiful kingdom of the Videhas, Mithila. The king of Mithila, Janaka, welcomes the great sage and asks him who are the two boys accompanying him. Janaka is overcome by great emotion as he is able to sense the true nature
caption: The birth of the four sons of Dasharatha.
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