Shanta (), is the princess of

Anga Anga was an ancient Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great na ...

in the Hindu epic ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

''. She is the wife of

Rishyasringa Rishyasringa (; ; Pali: Isisiṅga) is a rishi mentioned in Hindu and Buddhist scriptures from the late first millennium BCE. According to the Hindu epics ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'', he was a boy born with the horns of a deer who became ...

. In northern recensions of the epic and later Indian literature, she is regarded as a daughter of King

Dasharatha Dasharatha (, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of Kosala, with its capital at Ayodhya, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Dasharatha married Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. He was the father of Rama, the protagonist of the epic Ramayana, ...

and Queen

Kausalya Kausalya (, ) is a queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is the first senior queen consort of Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital Ayodhya. She is the mother of Rama, the male protagonist of the epic. She is a secondar ...

, who was later adopted by King

Romapada Romapada (), also known Chitraratha and Lomapada, was a king of Anga, and the adoptive father of Shanta in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Legend Early life Romapada was the youngest son of the Yadava king Vidarbha. Vidarbha had many sons, but ...

and Queen

Vershini Vershini () was the queen of Anga, wife of King Romapada and the adoptive mother of Shanta in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Legend Vershini and Kausalya were daughters of Kaushala king Sukaushala and queen Amritaprabha. Vershini was married ...

Legend

Shanta was educated in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

, arts, craft as well as in warfare, and was considered to have been very beautiful. One day, while her father, the king Romapada, was busy in conversation with Shanta, a

brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

came to ask for help in cultivation in the days of the monsoon. Romapada did not pay attention to the brahmin's plight. This irritated and enraged the brahmin, who left the kingdom.

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

, the god of rain, was unable to bear the insult to his devotee, so there was little rainfall during the monsoon season resulting in drought in the kingdom. Meanwhile, Dasharatha wanted a son to continue his legacy and enrich his royal dynasty. It was advised that the troubles of both kingdoms could only be alleviated by

yajnas In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well a ...

performed by a brahmin with powers that come from the observance of perfect chastity and that the only such person was Rishyasringa. Rishyasringa had been raised by

Vibhandaka Vibhandaka () is a rishi in Hinduism, belonging to the lineage of Sage Kashyapa. His son was Rishyashringa, featured in the epic Ramayana. Legend The Mahabharata states that Sage Vibhandaka once chanced upon Urvashi, the most beautiful of ...

, isolated from society without knowledge of women. He had to be brought to the city and be persuaded to carry out the necessary yajna ceremonies. Despite their fear of the power and anger of Vibhandaka, both kings send young women to introduce the boy to the normal society, then Shanta fulfills this task and Rishyasringa marries Shanta, he then agrees to perform yajna for

, during the recitation of it, it rained heavily, the public rejoiced and there were festivals in Anga. Rishyasringa also performed a Putra Kameshthi

yajna In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedas, Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature ...

for Dasharatha to beget progeny, and as the consequence of the said

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

, Bharata, and the twins

Lakshmana Lakshmana (, ), also known as Laxmana, Lakhan, Saumitra, and Ramanuja, is the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and i ...

and

Shatrughna ''Shatrughna'' (, ), also known as Ripudaman, is the younger brother of Rama, and King of Mathura, Madhupura and Vidisha, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of the Sudarshana Chakra of god Vishnu, and was married ...

were born.

Worship

In the

Kullu Kullu () is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport ...

district of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

and in the

Sringeri Sringeri (IAST: Śṛṅgerī; ) also called Shringeri is a hill town and Taluk headquarters located in Chikkamagaluru district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Sringeri is the site of Sri Sharadamba temple, a part of the Sringeri Sharada Pe ...

town of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, there are temples dedicated to Shanta and her husband Rishyasringa.

In popular culture

Zalak Desai Zalak Desai (born 21 December 1992) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi television. Desai is known for her portrayal of Sarala Ambar Raghuvanshi in ''Sajan Ghar Jaana Hai'', Anmol Singh in '' Mooh Boli Shaadi'', Rukmini in ''RadhaKrishn'' a ...

portrayed Shanta in the 2015 series ''

Siya Ke Ram ''Siya Ke Ram'' ( ''Sita's Ram'') is an Indian television series on Star Plus produced by Nikhil Sinha under the banner of Triangle Film Company. This show presents the epic ''Ramayana'', the story of Sita and Rama from Sita's perspective. The s ...

''.

Parvathy Jayaram Ashwathy Kurup (born 7 April 1970), better known by her stage name Parvathy, is an Indian former actress, costume designer and Indian classical dance, classical dancer, who appeared in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. Parvathy was a popular a ...

played Shanta in the critically acclaimed Malayalam movie '' Vaishali.''

References

{{HinduMythology Characters in the Ramayana Solar dynasty