Many of us have heard about the birth story of Ram and his three brothers but very few people know about the birth story of king Dashrath the father of lord Ram. In the story Ramayana, Maharaja Dasharatha was born at his birthplace with his chariot.
When Ravan Came For Battle
The birth of Maharaja Dashrath is a very amazing event. On the basis of mythological religious texts, it is said thatOnce the king Aja was praying at noon.At that time Ravana, the king of Lanka, came to fight them and was watching them worshipping from a distance. King Aja worshipped Lord Shiva and instead of offering water in front, he threw it behind.
Ravana was very surprised to see this. And before the battle, he came in front of King Aja and started asking that after worshipping, the consecration of water is always done at the front and not at the back. What is the reason behind this? King Aja said, when I was worshipping Lord Shiva in meditation posture with my eyes closed, then I saw a cow grazing in the forest one yojana away from here. I saw that a lion was about to attack it, then I saw the cow. To protect the body, the consecration of water was done backwards.
Ravana was very surprised to hear this.Ravana went one yojana away from there to check the truth behind what king Aja said. He saw a cow grazing on green grass while the lion had many arrows stuck in his stomach. Now Ravana was convinced that the great man whose arrows are made from water and without any means of aiming can reach the target. It is impossible to conquer such a brave man and he returns to Lanka without fighting with him.
The King’s Sorrow
Once when King Aja the father of king Dashrath went for a walk in the forest, he saw a very beautiful lake. There was a lotus flower in that lake which looked very beautiful.To get that lotus, King Aja went to the lake, but the closer King Aja went to the lotus, the more it moved away from him. King Aja could not catch that lotus.
Finally, a voice from the sky said, O king, you are childless and are not worthy of this lotus. This prophecy had struck a terrible blow in the heart of King Aja.
Grace of Lord Shiva
King Aja returned to his palace and became worried because he did not have a child even though he was a great devotee of Lord Shiva.Lord Shiva took his concern into consideration. And he called Dharamraj and said that you should send a Brahmin to the city of Ayodhya. So that King Aja can have chances of having a great child Dashrath.Lord shiva himself incarnated as Hanuman to serve lord Ram who was an incarnation of lord Vishnu.
Strange Demand of the Brahmin
Far away, a poor Brahmin and his wife lived in a hut on the banks of the Saryu river.One day that brahmin went to the court of king Aja and told him about his plight and started begging for alms. King Aja wanted to give him gold coins from his treasury but he refused. He said that he can not take that as it belonged to the people, give something which truly belongs to you. Then King Aja took off the necklace from his neck and started giving it to the Brahmin but the Brahmin refused saying that this is also the property of the people.
In this way, King Aja felt very sad that a poor Brahmin was leaving his court empty-handed. Then King Aja disguised himself as a labourer in the evening and went out for some work in the city.On his way, he reaches a blacksmith’s place and without revealing his identity, he politely starts working there. He works with a hammer the whole night, in exchange for which he gets one taka in the morning.
The king reached the Brahmin’s house with one taka but there was no Brahmin there. He gave that one taka to the Brahmin’s wife and asked her to give it to the Brahmin.
Birth of King Dashrath
When the Brahmin came, the Brahmin’s wife gave that taka to the Brahmin. The Brahmin threw that taka on the ground, then a surprising incident happened. A pit was formed where the Brahmin had thrown the taka. The Brahmin dug the pit further and found gold in it. One chariot came out and went towards the sky. After this, the Brahmin dug further and another golden chariot came out and went towards the sky. In this way, nine golden chariots came out.
They went towards the sky and when the tenth chariot came, there was a child on it who was king Dashrath.
The Brahmin took that child Dashrath to the court of King Aja. Brahmin said, “King, please accept this son, this is your son who was born from a taka.” Along with it, nine golden chariots emerged which went into the sky. This child emerged on the tenth chariot, hence this chariot and the son are yours. This is how King Dasharath was born.
Maharaj Dashrath’s real name was Manu. He could take his chariot in ten directions, that is why he became famous by the name Dashrath.
