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{{About|character from Hindu Epic Ramayana|Maurya King|Dasharatha Maurya|the film|Dasharatha (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{clean-up|reason=This article is poorly written and also needs more reference. A senior editor needs to review this article|date=November 2020}}
{{More references|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox deity
|type= Hindu
|birth_name= Nemi
|birth_place=[[Ayodhya]], [[Kosala]] (present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]])
|death_place=Ayodhya, (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
|image=King Dasharatha grieves inconsolably at his obligation to banish Rama to the forest.jpg
|caption = King Dasharatha grieves inconsolably at his obligation to banish Rama to the forest
|predecessor = [[Aja of Kosala|Aja]]
|dynasty =[[Raghuvanshi]]-[[Ikshvaku dynasty|Ikshvaku]]-[[Suryavansha|Suryavanshi]]
|spouse=[[Kausalya]] [[Kaikeyi]] [[Sumitra]] 
|children = [[Shanta]] [[Rama]] [[Bharata(Ramayana)|Bharatha]] [[Lakshmana]] [[Shatrughna]]
|father=[[Aja of Kosala|Aja]]
|mother=Indumati
}}
'''Dasharatha''' ([[Sanskrit]]: दशरथ, [[IAST]]: Daśaratha) is described in the [[Hindu]] epic ''[[Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'' as the king of [[Kosala]] and the father of [[Rama]]. His capital was known as [[Ayodhya]]. Dasharatha was the son of [[Aja of Kosala|Aja]] and Indumati. He had three wives: [[Kausalya]], [[Kaikeyi]] and [[Sumitra]], and from these unions were born [[Rama]], [[Bharata (Ramayana)|Bharata]], [[Lakshmana]] and [[Shatrughna]].

==Early life==

King Dasharatha was an incarnation of Dronavasu Brahmin, who received a boon from Lord Vishnu in his first life in [[Satya Yuga]].

Dasharatha was the son of King [[Aja of Kosala]] and Indumati of [[Vidarbha Kingdom|Vidarbha]]. His birth name was Nemi, but he acquired the name Dasharatha as his chariot could move in all ten directions, fly, as well as come down to earth, and he could fight with ease in all of these directions.

Dasharatha became the king of Kosala after his father died. He was a great warrior who single-handedly conquered the whole earth with his prowess and defeated and slew many [[asuras]] in war.

Dasharatha had three queen consorts. [[Kausalya]] was Dasharatha's chief queen. [[Sumitra]] and [[Kaikeyi]] were other queen consorts, but they were not chief queens. Kausalya was from the Kingdom of [[Dakshina Kosala]], Sumitra was from [[Kingdom of Kashi|Kashi]], and Kaikeyi was from [[Kekeya Kingdom]].

== Putrakameshthi Yajña to beget sons==
[[File:Dasharatha give Payasa to his wives.jpg|thumb|180px|Dasharatha give Payasa to his wives]]

Dasharatha performed a [[yajña]] with the help of Sage [[Rishyasringa]], an expert of Atharvaveda on the advice of [[Vasishtha]].

The [[Yajña]] was the Putra-kameshti at the bank of Manorama river. Dasharatha and Kausalya had a daughter [[Shanta]], who was Rishyashringa's wife. As the conclusion of the [[Yagna]] drew near, [[Agni]] sprang out from the Yagnakunda (sacrificial fire pit) and handed Dasharatha a pot of [[kheer]] ([[payasa]]), advising him to distribute it among his queens.

Kaushalya ate half the kheer, Sumitra ate a quarter of the kheer, and Kaikeyi ate some and passed the pot back to Sumitra, who consumed the kheer for the second time.

[[File:Dasharatha four sons.jpg|thumb|Dasharatha with his four sons]]
Thus, the queens conceived after the consumption of the kheer. Since Kausalya had consumed the largest portion, she gave birth to [[Rama]]. Kaikeyi gave birth to [[Bharata (Ramayana)|Bharata]]. Sumitra, who had consumed the kheer twice, gave birth to [[Lakshmana]] and [[Shatrughna]]. The part Sumitra took from Kausalya resulted in birth of Lakshmana, who was close to Rama. The part Sumitra took from Kaikeyi resulted in birth of Shatrughna, who was close to Bharata.

==Kaikeyi's boons==


A maid of Queen [[Kaikeyi]] named [[Manthara]] convinced her that the throne of Maharaja Dasharatha belonged to her son [[Bharata (Ramayana)|Bharata]], and that her stepson, crown prince [[Rama]] (the hero of the ''Ramayana'')— should be exiled from the kingdom. The ugly maid also reminded her of the promise made to her by Dasharatha when she saved him in the great war against the asuras, that she was promised 2 boons and she could use them to make Bharata king. By crowning Rama as king, Dasharatha would be doing an injustice to her, as she wanted Bharata to be king.

Thus, after this conversation, Dasharatha was reminded by Kaikeyi about the two boons he had yet to fulfill for her. She talked of the time when she saved him from the demons during a celestial battle against Sambasura, an enemy of both [[Indra]] and Dasharatha. During a fierce battle between the two, the wheel of Dasharatha's chariot broke and Sambasura's arrow pierced the king's armor and lodged in his chest. Kaikeyi, who was acting as Dasharatha's charioteer, quickly repaired the broken wheel and then drove the chariot away from the battlefield. She nursed the wounded king back to health. Touched by her courage and timely service, Dasharatha offered her two boons. However, Kaikeyi chose to ask for those boons later, and King Dasharatha was obliged to fulfill them. Kaikeyi demanded that Bharata be crowned king and Rama be sent to the forest for fourteen years. Hearing this, Dasharatha fell into a swoon and passed the night in a pitiable condition in Kaikeyi's palace.<ref>{{cite book|author = Mani, Vettam|title = Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature|url = https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft|publisher = Motilal Banarsidass|year = 1975|location = Delhi|isbn = 0-8426-0822-2}}</ref>

==Killing of Shravan Kumar and Dasharatha's death==
After Rama's departure to the forest, Dasharatha lay in his bed with a wailing Kaushalya. He suddenly remembered an incident which had occurred in his past. He narrated to Kaushalya about how, by accident, he had killed a young man named [[Shravan|Shravana]], mistaking him to be an elephant. Dasharatha, who was then a crown prince, had gone hunting on the banks of River Saryu. He was an expert in hunting by determining the direction of sound and heard the gurgle of an animal drinking water. Mistaking it to be water flowing through the trunk of an elephant, Dasharatha shot an arrow. He became mortified when he heard a human cry as the arrow found its target. Dasharatha hurried there to find a boy lying sprawled on the banks of the river with an arrow lodged in his chest. The boy forgave Dasharatha for his unintentional, unrighteous act and demanded that Dasharatha pull the arrow out of his chest. He also told him to take the pitcher of water to his blind parents, who must be waiting for him. The boy died. Dasharatha approached the blind couple and told them about their son's unfortunate death. The parents, grief-stricken, cursed the prince: "Just as we are dying due to the separation from our beloved son, you too shall have the same fate." Dasharatha concluded the chapter by saying that his end was near and the curse had taken effect.{{cn|date=May 2020}} The place where Dasharatha killed [[Shravan|Shravana]] is now known as [[Shravan Kshetra]].

[[File:Bharata fainted during his father Dasratha's cremation.jpg|thumb|left|Bharata fainted during his father Dasratha's cremation.]]

==Portrayals Of Dasharatha In Popular Culture==

Dasharatha has been portrayed by several actors in different television adaptations of the ''Ramayana'':

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! TV Series !! Channel !! Country !! Played by
|-
| 1987–1988 || [[Ramayan (1987 TV series)|Ramayan (TV series)]] || [[DD National]] || [[India]] || [[Bal Dhuri]]
|-
| 1997-2000|| [[Jai Hanuman (1997 TV series)]] || [[DD Metro]] || [[India]] || [[Deep Dhillon]]
|-
|-
| 2000|| [[Vishnu Puran (TV series)|Vishnu Puran]]|| [[Zee TV]] || [[India]] || [[Rishabh Shukla]]
|-
| 2002 ||[[Ramayan (2002 TV series)]]||[[Zee TV]]||[[India]]||[[Gajendra Chauhan]]
|-
| 2008–2009 || [[Ramayan (2008 TV series)]] || [[NDTV Imagine]] || [[India]] || Pankaj Kalra
|-
| 2012–2013 || [[Ramayan (2012 TV series)]] || [[Zee TV]] || [[India]] || [[Rishabh Shukla]]
|-
| 2015–2016 || [[Siya Ke Ram]] || [[Star Plus]] || [[India]] || [[Dalip Tahil]]
|-
| 2019–2020 || [[Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush]] || [[Colors TV]] || [[India]] || Ankur Nayyar
|}

==See also==
*[[Mata Kaushalya Temple]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Dasharatha}}
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869 Ramayana, translated in English by] [[Ralph T. H. Griffith|Griffith]], from [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [http://www.valmikiramayana.net/etext/Valmiki Ramayana by] [[Valmiki]]
* [http://www.astrojyoti.com/ramacharitamanasindex.htm/etext/Tulsidas Ramayana by]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} [[Tulsidas]]

{{Ramayana}}{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Raghuvamsa]]
[[Category:Ayodhya]]
[[Category:Characters_in_the_Ramayana]]
[[Category:Descendants of Ikshvaku]]

Dasharatha - Revision history

MarieDevore: small refined information for accuracy and improved wording to improve readability

>Chariotrider555: Rv unsourced changes