Lava
Son of Rama and Sita
One of Rama and Sita's twin sons, raised in sage Valmiki's ashram. He and his brother Kusha were the first singers of the Ramayana - their own family's story.
- Sanskrit/Telugu name: లవుడు
- Also known as: Lava Kumara
- Weapons: Bow and arrows
- Symbols: Veena, Twin stars
Story
Lava and his twin brother Kusha were born in the forest ashram of sage Valmiki, where Sita lived during her second, sorrowful separation from Rama. The boys grew up not knowing they were princes - just two bright ashram kids who could shoot arrows like lightning and sing like gandharvas. Valmiki taught them the entire Ramayana, the epic he had composed, set to music - which means the twins learned their own father's story as a song, without knowing it was theirs. When Rama performed the Ashvamedha yagam, its royal horse wandered near the ashram, and in many tellings the fearless twins captured it and defeated the armies that came for it - even facing their own uncles! Finally the boys were brought to Rama's court, where they sang the Ramayana so beautifully that the king wept - hearing his own life, and realizing these singers were his sons. Telugu audiences have loved this story forever: the film "Lava Kusa" was one of the biggest Telugu movie hits of its era.
Fun fact
The 1963 Telugu film "Lava Kusa," with N.T. Rama Rao as Rama, was such a colossal hit that generations of Telugu families learned this story from the movie hall.
Family and connections
- Sibling: Kusha (twin)