Ūrmilā

Ūrmilā was the second daughter of King Janaka of Mithilā and the wife of Lakshmaṇa. Her name means “wave”. She is known for her quiet sacrifice. Her husband spent fourteen years in the forest at the side of his elder brother Rāma, and she waited for him in Ayodhyā. The tradition honours her patience as a fine example of pativratā-dharma (the duty of a devoted wife).

Marriage to Lakshmaṇa

Ūrmilā married Lakshmaṇa on the same occasion as Sītā’s marriage to Rāma. This was the great wedding festival at Mithilā that Janaka arranged after Rāma broke the bow of Bhagavān Śiva. Janaka married both his daughters on the same day. So Ūrmilā entered her marriage together with her sister Sītā, in the joy of the double wedding. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 73)

The fourteen years of separation

The main trial of Ūrmilā’s life came when Lakshmaṇa chose to go with Rāma and Sītā into their forest exile. Lakshmaṇa could not be parted from Rāma. So Ūrmilā, a newly married woman, stayed in Ayodhyā while her husband lived in the forest for fourteen years. She bore it with full acceptance, without complaint. The tradition counts her patience as one of the greatest examples of pativratā-dharma in the world of the Rāmāyaṇa.

Janaka’s daughters

Ūrmilā was Janaka’s own daughter. Māṇḍavī and Śrutakīrti were the daughters of Janaka’s brother Kuśadhvaja. Her sister Sītā is the chief heroine of the Rāmāyaṇa. Ūrmilā shared her father with Sītā.

Motherhood in Rāma-rājya

The Janma Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells of Ūrmilā’s motherhood in the years of Rāma-rājya (the reign of Rāma). First came Sītā’s puṃsavana saṃskāra (a rite in pregnancy) and the royal births that followed. After that Ūrmilā, together with Māṇḍavī and Śrutakīrti, also became pregnant in due time. Sītā carried out their kautuka (auspicious rites) with great care and love. Rāma invited Janaka to Ayodhyā. He performed the puṃsavana and the sīmanta rites for all three queens, and he honoured them as he had honoured Sītā.

Ūrmilā had two sons.

• Her first son was named Aṅgada by Vasishṭha. He is a different Aṅgada from the vānara prince Aṅgada, the son of Vāli.
• Some time later she gave birth to her second son, named Citraketu.

Both births were marked by divine music, showers of flowers from the devas, and festivals arranged by Rāma along the royal roads of Ayodhyā. The Janma Khaṇḍa describes the royal boys as moon-faced. They charmed their parents by crawling, taking first steps and speaking sweetly. They wore golden ornaments, tiger-claw pendants set with jewels, and golden earrings. Ūrmilā is shown fanning Rāma with a cāmara (a whisk) while the royal family sat together. It is a picture of the joy of Rāma-rājya.

Vasishṭha performed the upanayana saṃskāras (the rite of the sacred thread) of Aṅgada and Citraketu in due time. After that, both sons made a five-month tīrtha-yātrā (journey to holy places) through the sacred places of Bhāratavarsha. (Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9)

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 73
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Pūrṇa Khaṇḍa, Chapters 5–6