''Shatrughna'' ( sa, text=शत्रुघ्न, translit=śatrughna, lit=killer of enemies) is a prince of Ayodhya, King of Madhupura and

Vidisha Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from th ...

, and a brother of Prince

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 Bein ...

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 literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

''. He is also known as ''Ripudaman'' (vanquisher of foes). He is the twin of Lakshmana. He is a loyalist of Bharata, just like Lakshmana is to Rama. According to the Valmiki Ramayana, Shatrughna is one aspect of the manifestation of Vishnu (Rama). Shatrughna also appears as the 412th name of Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranama of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

. According to the ''

'', Rama is the seventh avatar of

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 ...

, while Lakshmana, Shatrughna, and Bharata are the avatars of Sheshanaga, Panchajanya, and the Sudarshana Chakra respectively.

Birth and family

Shatrughna was born to the king 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. Ayodhya wa ...

, Dasharatha, and his third wife, Queen Sumitra, a princess of Kashi. Dasharatha's other two wives,

Kaushalya Kausalya () is the senior queen-consort of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is the mother of Rama, the titular hero of the epic, and the senior wife of Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital of Ayodhya. In some later accou ...

and

Kaikeyi Kaikeyi (Sanskrit: कैकेयी, IAST: Kaikeyī) is the second consort of King Dasharatha, and a queen of Ayodhya in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Out of Dasharatha's three wives, Kaikeyi exerts the most influence. Formerly the princess of Kek ...

, bore children who would be his half-brothers. Kaushalya had

and Kaikeyi had Bharata, who were Shatrughna's half-brothers. Shatrughna's twin brother was Lakshmana. Shatrughna was married to Shrutakirti, daughter of

Kushadhwaja Kushadhvaja (IAST: Kuśadhvaja) is a king in the Ramayana, the younger brother of King Janaka of Mithila. Kushadhvaja's two daughters, Mandavi and Shrutakirti, were married to Rama's younger brothers, Bharata and Shatrughna, respectively. Wh ...

, Janaka's younger brother. Thus, Shrutakirti was

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

's cousin. They had two sons - Subahu and Shatrughati.

Rama's exile

When Rama was exiled, Shatrughna dragged Kaikeyi's old nurse Manthara (who was responsible for poisoning the queen's mind against Rama) and tried to kill her, but he was restrained by Bharata, who felt that Rama would not approve. Bharata went to Rama and asked him to come back to Ayodhya, but Rama refused. Bharata ruled Ayodhya from Nandigramam and was an excellent leader, acting as the very embodiment of dharma. Although Bharata was the king designate of Ayodhya during Rama's exile, it was Shatrughna who undertook of the administration of the whole kingdom during Rama's absence. Shatrughna was the only solace for the three queen mothers during the absence of Rama, Lakshmana, and Bharata from Ayodhya.

Rage against Manthara

Manthara appears only once in the ''Ramayana'' after Rama's banishment. Having been rewarded by Kaikeyi with costly clothing and jewels, she was walking in the palace gardens when Bharata and his half-brother Shatrughna came upon her. Seeing her, Shatrughna flew into a violent rage over Rama's banishment decided to attack her. Kaikeyi begged Bharata to save her, which he did, telling Shatrughna that it would be a sin to kill a woman, and that Rama would be furious with them both if he did such a thing. He relented and the brothers left, while Kaikeyi attempted to comfort Manthara.

The Slaying of Lavanasura

Although he played a relatively minor role in the ''

'', Shatrughna was important to the main story and goal of the epic. His chief exploit was the killing of Lavanasura, the demon King of Madhupura (

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

),Pargiter, F.E. (1972). ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p.170. who was a nephew of

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

, the King of Lanka, slain by Rama. Lavanasura was the son of Madhu, the pious demon-king after whom the city of Madhupura was named. Madhu's wife and Lavanusara's mother Kumbhini was a sister of

. Lavanasura was holder of the divine ''Trishula'' (Trident) of Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, and nobody was able to kill him or prevent him from committing sinful activities. Shatrughna begged Rama and his elder brothers to allow him the opportunity to serve them by killing Lavanasura. Shatrughna killed the demon with an arrow imbibed with the power of

. After Lavanasura's death, Rama crowned him King of Madhupura.

Retirement

After Rama, the seventh

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

completed 11,000 years of perfectly pious rule upon earth, Shatrughna had divided his kingdom consisting of Madhupura and

between his sons Subahu and Shatrughati; and walked into the river Sarayu to return to his true and eternal

Mahavishnu Mahavishnu (Sanskrit: महाविष्णु) is an aspect of Vishnu, the principal deity in Vaishnavism. In his capacity as Mahavishnu, the deity is known as the Supreme Purusha, the absolute protector and sustainer of the universe, th ...

form. Bharata and Shatrughna followed him into the river and merged into

Temples

* Shatrughna Temple at Payammal in Thrissur District of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

* Shatrughna Temple at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh * Shatrughna Temple near Kans-tila,

, UP

References

External links

Satrughna and Mathura in the Uttarakanda

{{HinduMythology Solar dynasty Characters in the Ramayana