Siddhārtha

Siddhārtha was one of the ministers and counsellors at the court of King Daśaratha in Ayodhyā. The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa names him in the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa among the ministers, ṛshis and advisers who gathered at the royal court. He stands for the learned and experienced ministers who ran the work of government in Ayodhyā.

In the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa

Siddhārtha is named among the ministers in the opening chapters of the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa. Daśaratha called his court together to announce that he planned to crown Rāma as Yuvarāja (the heir to the throne). The ministers and counsellors at the Ayodhyā court are shown as learned, experienced and virtuous men. They were skilled in the sciences of government, devoted to dharma, and committed to the welfare of the kingdom and its people.

Siddhārtha is named as part of this council of ministers. These were the men who helped govern the kingdom of Ayodhyā. They were present at the great assembly where Daśaratha announced his plan for the succession.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 1–8