Ayodhyā
Kaikeyī
Queen of Daśaratha, mother of Bharata. Vālmīki gives her full agency. Later retellings sometimes place the cause in divine intervention instead.
Ayodhyā KāṇḍaVālmīki (primary text)In the text
Kaikeyī is Daśaratha's favourite queen and the mother of Bharata. She has held two boons since the day she saved the king's life in battle. When she claims them, in Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa sargas 9 to 11, the terms are exact: Rāma to the forest for fourteen years, and Bharata crowned in his place.
Primary text: Śrīmad Vālmīkīya Rāmāyaṇa, Gita Press, Gorakhpur. Later traditions and living-tradition associations are labelled as such. Return to the Rāmāyaṇa World.