Kausalya () is the senior queen-consort of

Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a small state during the late Vedic peri ...

in the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

''. She is the mother of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

, the titular hero of the epic, and the senior wife of

Dasharatha Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of the Kosala kingdom and a scion of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. He ruled from this capital at Ayodhya. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He h ...

, who ruled Kosala from its capital of

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhy ...

. In some later accounts,

Shanta Shanta is a character in the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. She is the adoptive daughter of King Romapāda of Aṅga and wife of R̥śyaśr̥ṇga. In northern recensions of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'' and later Indian literature, she is the daughter of Daśara ...

is described as her daughter, and the eldest child, of Dasharatha. However, in the ''Bala Kanda'' of the ''Ramayana'',

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

writes of Shanta only as the daughter of Romapada, the king of

Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...

, who was a friend of Dasharatha. At no point is Shanta's mother named.

Legend

does not mention the names of Kausalya's parents, but in the 'Ayodhya Kanda' she is described as ''Kosalendraduhitā'' (daughter of the king of Kosala). Later texts name her as the daughter of the King Sukaushala and Queen Amritaprabha of

Dakshina Kosala Dakshina Kosala (IAST: Dakṣiṇa Kosala, "southern Kosala") is a historical region of central India. It was located in what is now Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh along with some parts of Western Odisha. At its greatest extent, it may have a ...

. At her traditionally ascribed birthplace, there exists a temple dedicated to her called the

Mata Kaushalya Temple Mata Kaushalya temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Mata Kaushalya, mother of Lord Ram. It is the only temple in the world dedicated to Mata Kaushalya. It is located at Chandkhuri village around 27km away from Raipur in Chhattisgarh. In 2020 ...

, which is perhaps among the few temples dedicated to her. At the sacrifice performed by

Rishyasringa Rishyasringa ( sa, ऋष्यशृङ्ग; ; Pali: Isisiṅga) is a Rishi mentioned in Indian (Hindu and Buddhist) scriptures from the late first millennium BCE. According to the Hindu epics ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'', he was a boy b ...

so that Dasharatha might bear sons, a divine being presented the king with a golden bowl filled with a ''

payasam Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur w ...

'' (a milk delicacy) prepared by the gods. Dasharatha offered half of this divine food to Kausalya, a quarter to

Sumitra Sumitra ( sa, सुमित्रा, IAST: Sumitrā) is a princess of Kashi in Hindu mythology. The wise Sumitra is the third queen consort of Dasharatha, the king of Kosala, who ruled from Ayodhya. She is the mother of the twins Lakshmana a ...

(literally 'half of that which remained'), an eighth to Kaikeyi (again 'half of that which remained'), and then, upon reflection, gave the final eighth to Sumitra again. When Rama set forth to begin his exile from Ayodhya, Dasaratha, and Kausalya hurried after his chariot until Rama, unable to bear the sight, told his charioteer Sumantra to quicken his pace so that they would be left behind. She ceased to be primary queen consort of Kosala with the death of her husband. She exercised the title of queen dowager until her son's accession to the throne, upon which she was widely honoured as the queen mother. Queen Kausalya is considered to be the incarnation of Dhara (Brahmani), wife of Dronavasu. She received a boon from

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

, who promised her that he would be born as her son in the

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by ''Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine year ...

Worship

The Mata Kaushalya Temple is located in Chandkhuri in the Raipur District of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prad ...

. The temple has been revived and inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh,

Bhupesh Baghel Bhupesh Baghel (born 23 August 1960) is an Indian politician serving as the third and current Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. He was president of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress. He has been member of legislative assembly five times from Patan. ...

, and other dignitaries, under the '

Ram Van Gaman Path Ram Van Gaman Path is the path that Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana took during their 'vanvaas' or exile years. It starts from Ayodhya and ends at Sri Lanka. This path is much revered in the Hindu religion as various key incidents of Lord Rama’s ...

' project in October 2021.

References

External links

Solar dynasty People from Kosala Characters in the Ramayana {{Hindu-myth-stub

Legend

Worship

See also

References

External links