Sumitrā

Sumitrā was the third queen of Daśaratha. She was the mother of Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna. In the Putrakāmeshṭi yajña (the fire ritual performed to gain sons) she received two shares of the consecrated pāyasa (sweet milk-rice), one for each of her two sons. Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna were the two princes who stayed close to Bhagavān Rāma and to Bharata.

She is remembered as a quiet, wise and generous woman. When Rāma was sent into exile, she blessed Lakshmaṇa and let him go with him.

The two portions of pāyasa

The Bāla Kāṇḍa gives the sharing of the divine pāyasa in this way. Kausalyā received half. Kaikeyī received one quarter. Sumitrā received one eighth, and then the last one eighth as well. From these two portions she conceived the two brothers Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 16)

Mother of Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna

Of the four sons of Daśaratha, Sumitrā bore two. They were Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna. Lakshmaṇa became the constant companion of Rāma. Śatrughna became the faithful helper of Bharata. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 16–18)

Liberation through self-inquiry in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa

The Manohara Kāṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells how Sumitrā gained liberation in the time of Rāma-rājya (the rule of Bhagavān Rāma) by the path of ātma-vicāra (inquiry into the self). Bhagavān Rāma arranged adhyātma teaching (teaching about the Self) through the night all over Ayodhyā. During it, Sumitrā turned the inquiry inward and asked the basic question: “Ko’ham?” This means “Who am I?”

She did not look outside for the answer, to scripture, to a teacher or to the world. She turned the light of awareness back on the one who was asking. In that turning, she could find no fixed and limited self. The seeker dissolved in the search. Only the bright and boundless awareness remained, which had been there all along beneath the waves of experience.

Through this inquiry, Sumitrā gained jñāna (knowledge): she knew directly that her own nature is undivided consciousness. When this knowing was complete, she reached Vaikuṇṭha, together with Kausalyā and Kaikeyī. All three queens found liberation through the grace of the adhyātma teaching of Bhagavān Rāma. (Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Manohara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 2)

The blessing to Lakshmaṇa

Rāma was exiled, and Lakshmaṇa wished to go with his brother. Sumitrā did not weep or beg him to stay. She gave him her blessing and urged him to go. She said to him: “For you, Rāma is your father, and the forest is Ayodhyā. Sītā is your mother, and going to the forest is your duty. Go with my blessing.” (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 31)

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 16–18
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 31
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Manohara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 2