Sumitra
Dasharatha's Wise Second Queen
The wisest of Dasharatha's queens and mother of the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna. She sent her son to the forest with the most famous blessing in the Ramayana.
- Sanskrit/Telugu name: సుమిత్ర
- Also known as: Mother of the twins
- Symbols: Two cradles
Story
Sumitra, the second of Dasharatha's three queens, is remembered as the wisest heart in the palace. When the sacred payasam from the putrakameshti yagam was shared out, in many tellings both Kausalya and Kaikeyi gave Sumitra a portion of theirs - and so she alone had twins: Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Beautifully, each twin devoted himself to the brother from the queen whose payasam had blessed him - Lakshmana shadowed Rama, and Shatrughna followed Bharata. Sumitra never pushed her sons toward the throne; she taught them that serving with love is its own crown. Her greatest moment came when Lakshmana asked permission to follow Rama into exile. Instead of weeping, she said words the Ramayana treasures: "Think of Rama as Dasharatha, think of Sita as me, and think of the forest as Ayodhya - now go happily, my son." Fourteen years later, both her boys came home safe, just as her steady heart had trusted they would.
Fun fact
Sumitra is the only one of the three queens who had twins - and her farewell line to Lakshmana ("let the forest be your Ayodhya") is one of the most quoted verses of the whole Ramayana.