Māṇḍavī

Māṇḍavī was the daughter of Kuśadhvaja, the brother of Janaka. She was the wife of Bharata, the son of Daśaratha. She was married on the same occasion as the three other royal brides at Mithilā: Sītā married Rāma, Ūrmilā married Lakshmaṇa, and Śrutakīrti married Śatrughna.

Marriage at Mithilā

Janaka and his brother Kuśadhvaja offered their daughters to all four sons of Daśaratha. Janaka gave his own daughters Sītā and Ūrmilā to Rāma and Lakshmaṇa. Kuśadhvaja gave his daughters Māṇḍavī and Śrutakīrti to Bharata and Śatrughna. The four weddings were celebrated together in one great vivāha mahotsava (wedding festival). (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 73)

Her father’s house

Māṇḍavī’s father Kuśadhvaja belonged to the Vaideha royal house of Mithilā. Through her marriage to Bharata, a daughter of that house came into the royal family of Ayodhyā.

Motherhood in the reign of Rāma

The Janma Kāṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells of Māṇḍavī’s motherhood in the years of Rāma-rājya (the reign of Rāma). After Sītā returned and the Aśvamedha was complete, Māṇḍavī became pregnant, together with Ūrmilā and Śrutakīrti. Sītā performed their kautuka rites with great affection. Rāma arranged the puṃsavana and sīmanta ceremonies for all three queens. The extended royal family and the citizens performed the dohada rites for them with joy.

Māṇḍavī gave birth to two sons.

• Her first son was named Pushkara by Vasishṭha. He was Bharata’s first son, and the city of Pushkarāvatī was founded for him and takes its name from him.
• Some time later she gave birth to her second son, named Taksha. He was Bharata’s second son, and the great city of Takshaśilā takes its name from him.

Both births were celebrated with divine music, showers of flowers and festivals that Rāma arranged throughout Ayodhyā. Vasishṭha performed the jātakarma (birth rite) and the nāmakaraṇa (naming rite) in front of the whole royal family. In due course Vasishṭha also performed the upanayana (sacred thread rite) of Pushkara and Taksha. Rāma celebrated these with even greater splendour than those of his own sons. The two sons then went on a five-month tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) to the sacred places of Bhāratavarsha with their royal cousins. (Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Janma Kāṇḍa, Chapter 9)

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 73
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Janma Kāṇḍa, Chapter 9