https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Shravana_KumaraShravana Kumara - Revision history2026-08-19T04:02:45ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shravana_Kumara&diff=416732&oldid=prevAjay Kumar: Created a new article2023-08-20T16:09:15Z<p>Created a new article</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Ramayana character}}<br />
{{for multi|the month of the Hindu calendar|Shraavana|the Nakshatra|Shravana}}<br />
{{Infobox deity<br />
| type = Hindu<br />
| name = Shravana Kumara<br />
| image = Dashrath Raja and Shravan.jpg<br />
| caption = A fallen Shravana and Prince Dasharatha<br />
| texts = [[Ramayana]]<br />
| father = Shantanu<br />
| mother = Gyanvanti<br />
}}'''Shravana Kumara''' ({{Lang-sa|श्रवण कुमार}}) is a character mentioned in the ancient [[Hindu text]] ''[[Ramayana]].'' He is best known for his filial piety towards his parents. He was killed accidentally by Prince [[Dasharatha]].<ref name = shra1/><br />
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==Life ==<br />
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Shravana Kumara's parents, Shantanu and Gyanvanti (Malaya), were hermits. They were both blind. When they became aged, Shravana wanted to take them to the four most sacred places of Hindu pilgrimage to purify the soul. Since Shravana Kumara could not afford the transport, he decided to put each parent in a basket and tie each basket to an end of a bamboo pole, which he would carry on his shoulder while on their pilgrimage.<ref name = shra1>{{Cite book|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=xiv9_Cp3OtQC&q=Sarayu+shravan+kumar&pg=PA89 | title = The Story Of Sri Ram | first= Prem P.| last= Bhalla |work = p. 89 | date= 2009| isbn = 9788124801918 }}</ref><br />
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According to [[Punjabi culture|Punjabi]] folklore, Shravana's mother was distantly related to King [[Dasharatha]].<br />
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== Death ==<br />
[[File:King Dasharatha cremates Shravana and his aged Parents.jpg|thumb|left|251x251px|Dasharatha cremates Shravana and his parents (painting by Laharu of Chamba)]]<br />
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According to the [[Ramayana]], while hunting in the forest of Ayodhya, the then-Prince Dasharatha heard a sound near a lake and shot an arrow, hoping to hit an animal. When he crossed the lake to collect his kill, he found that his arrow had fatally struck a teenage boy who was bleeding. The injured boy was Shravana, who then told Dasharatha he had come to the lake to collect water for his sick and aged parents, who were both blind and whom he had been carrying on a sling. With his dying breath, Shravana requested Dasharatha to take water to his parents and to tell them what happened.<br />
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Shravana then succumbed to his wounds. When Dasharatha took water for his parents and told them of his tragic mistake, they were unable to bear the shock. Despite acknowledging that it was an accident, they cursed Dasharatha that he too would experience 'Putrashoka' (Sanskrit, '<nowiki/>''putra''<nowiki/>' is child/son and '''shoka''<nowiki/>' is sorrow, or grief; grief due to loss of a son). Thus, Shravana's sick and thirsty parents died without drinking water.<ref name="indiatoday2008">[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/An+unfinished+ancient+tale/1/8741.html An unfinished ancient tale]. IndiaToday.in. 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2012-09-14.</ref> <br />
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[[File:The blind hermit and his wife mourn their son, who was slain accidentally by Dasaratha.jpg|thumb|right|180x180px|The blind hermit and his wife mourn their son, who was slain accidentally by Dasarath.]]<br />
This curse came true when King Dasharatha died without seeing his eldest and most beloved son, [[Rama]], who had to be exiled at the former's own orders (upon the wishes of the latter's step-mother, queen [[Kaikeyi]]).<ref name = shra1/><br />
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== Legacy ==<br />
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Local tradition holds that the place where Shravana died was named ''<nowiki/>'<nowiki/>''Sarvan''<nowiki/>'<nowiki/>'' in [[Unnao district]] of [[Uttar Pradesh]] in India, and the spot where Dasharatha shot his arrow came to be known as ''<nowiki/>'<nowiki/>''Sarwara''<nowiki/>'<nowiki/>'' and the place where Shravana's parents died is called ''<nowiki/>'<nowiki/>''Samadha''<nowiki/>'''. An old and dilapidated [[Samadhi (shrine)|memorial for Shravana]] on the banks of the lake is now withering away.<ref name="indiatoday2008" /><br />
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== Shrine==<br />
[[Mukhed]] in [[Nanded district]] of [[Maharashtra]] has a ''[[samadhi]]'' dedicated to Shravana.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nandedonline.com/2018/03/historical-significance-of-mukhed.html|title=Historical significance of Mukhed|website=NandedOnline.com|access-date=2019-08-04}}</ref><br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Hindu text]]<br />
* [[Kosala|Kosala kingdom]]<br />
* [[Sarayu]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
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{{reflist}}<br />
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{{Ramayana| state=expanded}}{{Mohandas K. Gandhi}}<br />
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[[Category:Sages in the Ramayana]]<br />
[[Category:Rishis]]</div>Ajay Kumar