Lakshmaṇa

Lakshmaṇa is the third of the four sons of Daśaratha. He is the inseparable companion and devoted younger brother of Śrī Rāma. He was born from the womb of Sumitrā, from the divine pāyasam (sweet milk-rice) of the Putrakāmeshṭi yajña (the fire ritual for sons).

The Vaishṇava tradition understands him as an aṃśa (portion) of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and names him as Ādi Śesha, the cosmic serpent who eternally serves as the seat and shelter of Bhagavān Vishṇu. His life is known for his selfless devotion to Rāma. He gave up his own comforts, and he left his beloved wife Ūrmilā, to follow his elder brother into fourteen years of forest exile.

Birth and divine nature

Lakshmaṇa was born on Caitra Śukla Navamī, the same sacred day as the birth of Rāma. Sumitrā received two portions of the consecrated pāyasam from the Putrakāmeshṭi yajña. One portion gave birth to Lakshmaṇa and the other to Śatrughna.

The tradition understands Lakshmaṇa as Ādi Śesha come down to earth. In every age Śesha appears beside the avatāra (descent) of Bhagavān Vishṇu to serve as his closest companion and protector. Śesha eternally holds up the universe while Bhagavān Vishṇu rests upon him. In the same way Lakshmaṇa holds up the work of Rāma with his own strength and watchfulness. This is the teaching of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 18.

Character and qualities

Even as a youth Lakshmaṇa was devoted to Rāma, fiercely protective, and unable to bear any dishonour to his brother. When Viśvāmitra came to take Rāma away, Lakshmaṇa at once prepared to go with him. He could not think of being parted from Rāma. Wherever Rāma went, Lakshmaṇa followed, and he did so by the natural order of his being, not because he was forced. The Bāla Kāṇḍa (Chapter 18) records that Lakshmaṇa was always at Rāma’s side, always alert and always ready.

With Rāma and Viśvāmitra

When Viśvāmitra reached Ayodhyā and asked for Rāma, Lakshmaṇa went with his brother at once. He shared equally in the hardships of the journey, in the dangers of the Tāṭakā forest, and in the training in arms that Viśvāmitra gave. On the banks of the Sarayū the ṛshi gave both princes the Balā and Atibalā vidyās. These are great knowledge-mantras that protect the one who holds them from hunger, thirst and every affliction. Through the whole journey Lakshmaṇa was Rāma’s companion, guardian and fellow student. The source is the Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 22.

Marriage to Ūrmilā

At the vivāha (wedding) in Mithilā, Lakshmaṇa was married to Ūrmilā, the second daughter of Janaka. All four princes were settled in the life of a householder (gṛhastha) on the same auspicious occasion. Later Ūrmilā stayed in Ayodhyā during Rāma’s exile while Lakshmaṇa went with his brother. She bore this separation of fourteen years with great patience. The Bāla Kāṇḍa (Chapter 73) tells of the marriage.

In the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa

Refusing to stay in Ayodhyā

The demands of Kaikeyī sent Rāma to the forest. Lakshmaṇa refused to stay behind in Ayodhyā. He said that his whole purpose was to serve Rāma, and that without Rāma the palace had no meaning for him. He would walk before Rāma in the forest and clear the path. He would guard both Rāma and Sītā against every danger. After some resistance, Rāma accepted his decision. This is told in the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 28–30.

His mother Sumitrā gave him a remarkable blessing. She told him to see Rāma as Daśaratha, the forest as Ayodhyā, and Sītā as herself. Going to the forest in Rāma’s service was the fulfilment of his dharma, she said, and not a loss. This is in the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 31.

The sleepless night at Śṛṅgaverapura

At Śṛṅgaverapura on the Gaṅgā, Rāma and Sītā slept under the ingudi tree. Lakshmaṇa stayed awake the whole night with Guha, the Nishāda king, and with Sumantra. In a long lament before Guha, Lakshmaṇa spoke of the pain he had carried silently before Rāma. He spoke of his anger at the wrong done to Rāma, his grief for Kauśalyā, his belief that Daśaratha would not survive the separation, and his fears for Ayodhyā. The source is the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 51.

Building the parṇaśālā at Citrakūṭa

At Citrakūṭa, Lakshmaṇa built with his own hands the parṇaśālā, the thatched forest hut where the three would live. The Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa (Chapter 56) describes the building with care. It was a solid, well-made hut that gave real shelter through the seasons of the forest. Lakshmaṇa had been trained as a prince, and he used his hands to build a home for Rāma in the forest. It was one of the most concrete acts of his service.

Meeting with Bharata at Citrakūṭa

When Bharata came to Citrakūṭa with the royal procession, Lakshmaṇa was fiercely protective of Rāma. He first took the approaching army as a threat, since he did not know that Bharata was leading it, and he was ready to defend Rāma against any danger. When the peaceful purpose of the meeting was clear, Lakshmaṇa stood beside Rāma through the whole discussion that followed. This is told in the Bharata chapters of the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa.

In the Araṇya Kāṇḍa

The years in Daṇḍakāraṇya

Lakshmaṇa stayed at Rāma’s side through the years in Daṇḍakāraṇya. In the fight with Virādha, the two brothers fought together. Weapons could not pierce the body of the rākshasa, which was protected by a vara (a boon), so in the end they buried him alive. The brothers went from āśrama to āśrama, visiting Śarabhāṅga, Sutīkshṇa, Māṇḍakarṇi and Agastya. Lakshmaṇa was both protector and companion. The source is the Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 2–13.

Building the āśrama at Pañcavaṭī

On the advice of Agastya, Rāma chose Pañcavaṭī on the Godāvarī as their forest home. Lakshmaṇa built the āśrama with his own hands. He felled trees, cleared the ground, and built a beautiful, well-shaped leaf hut fit for Rāma and Sītā. This work matches his earlier building of the parṇaśālā at Citrakūṭa. It is told in the Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapter 15.

Śūrpaṇakhā

The rākshasī Śūrpaṇakhā attacked Sītā in anger. Rāma told Lakshmaṇa to punish her, and Lakshmaṇa cut off her nose and ears. This began the chain of events that led to the abduction of Sītā. Later, at Janasthāna, Khara led 14,000 rākshasas against the brothers. Rāma ordered Lakshmaṇa to take Sītā into a cave for safety while he fought alone. Lakshmaṇa did his duty as the protector of Sītā while Rāma faced the whole army. The source is the Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 27–31.

The fatal departure

Mārīca took the form of a golden deer. As he died under Rāma’s Brahmāstra, he cried out in Rāma’s voice, “Hā Sītā! Hā Lakshmaṇa!” Sītā was seized with fear and begged Lakshmaṇa to go to the help of his brother. Lakshmaṇa at first refused. He told her that no being in the universe could harm Rāma, and that the cry was a trick of Mārīca. Sītā was weeping and desperate, and she spoke harsh words that questioned his intentions. Lakshmaṇa was deeply hurt by her words, but he could not bear to leave her weeping. He drew a protective line at the threshold of the āśrama, warned Sītā never to cross it, and left.

This was the gap that Rāvaṇa had prepared. The āśrama was unguarded, and only the protective line stood between Sītā and her abduction. Rāvaṇa asked Sītā to step forward with offerings. She crossed the line, and Rāvaṇa seized her. The source is the Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 41–45.

After the abduction

Lakshmaṇa stood with Rāma through every stage of the search. He was there for Rāma’s lament of separation (viraha-vilāpa) in the forest, for the finding of the dying Jaṭāyu, and for the full last rites (antima-saṃskāra) that Rāma performed for the eagle. In the Krauñca forest Lakshmaṇa drove off the rākshasī Ayomukhī when she came at him. He cut off her nose, ears and breasts. With Rāma he cut off the arms of Kabandha and burned the body of the dānava. Kabandha advised them to seek Sugrīva. Lakshmaṇa then went with Rāma to the āśrama of Śabarī, who guided them toward Pampā and Ṛshyamūka. The source is the Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 65–75.

Lakshmaṇa in the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa

The questions at Pañcavaṭī

The Tulasī version of the Araṇya Kāṇḍa gives Lakshmaṇa a larger part at Pañcavaṭī, as a sincere questioner. He sat with Rāma in the forest āśrama while Sītā rested inside. He asked Rāma a series of deep questions about māyā (illusion), jñāna (knowledge), vairāgya (renunciation) and the paths to liberation. These questions came from his own experience of living beside Bhagavān Rāma in human form. How is one to see the world as māyā while still living in it? What is the difference between the jñāna of a ṛshi and the bhakti (devotion) of a devotee?

Rāma answered each question clearly. He said that māyā is his own creative power. He said that jñāna without bhakti is like the sky without the sun. He said that the path of navadhā-bhakti (ninefold devotion) is open to all, however hard the jñāna-yoga may be. This teaching at Pañcavaṭī is one of the main teachings of the Araṇya Kāṇḍa.

The departure and the Lakshmaṇa-rekhā

In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Mārīca’s dying cry was heard and Sītā begged Lakshmaṇa to go to Rāma’s aid. Lakshmaṇa patiently tried to assure her that the cry was a trick of the rākshasa and that Rāma needed no help. Sītā was in great fear, and she spoke harsh words of accusation. She suggested that Lakshmaṇa held back out of ill intention and not out of loyalty to Rāma’s command. These words cut Lakshmaṇa deeply. He could not stay in the face of Sītā’s distress, and he decided to go.

Before leaving, he drew the Lakshmaṇa-rekhā. This is a protective boundary around the āśrama, charged with the power of his own śaraṇāgati (complete surrender) and devotion. He warned Sītā with great seriousness not to step beyond it for any reason. He then prayed to the vana-devatās (the devas of the forest) to guard Sītā in his absence. He left for the forest with a heavy heart. He was sure that what he had been forced to do was wrong, yet he could not refuse to do it.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 5–77
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 14–56
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa