Ayodhyā
Daśaratha
King of Ayodhyā, bound by his own promises. In Vālmīki the boy he killed by mistake is the son of an ascetic and is not named Śravaṇa. The name comes later.
Bāla KāṇḍaVālmīki (primary text)In the text
Daśaratha is the aged king of Kosala, long childless until the sacrifice that gives him four sons. He loves Rāma beyond all of them and plans to name him heir. Years before, he promised Kaikeyī two boons, and he honours them though they destroy him. He dies soon after Rāma leaves.
Primary text: Śrīmad Vālmīkīya Rāmāyaṇa, Gita Press, Gorakhpur. Later traditions and living-tradition associations are labelled as such. Return to the Rāmāyaṇa World.