Kuśa and Lava Sing the Rāmāyaṇa

Kuśa and Lava were the twin sons of Bhagavān Rāma and Sītā. Vālmīki Maharshi taught them the whole Rāmāyaṇa, and they were the first to sing it in public. They sang it in Ayodhyā before Rāma himself, who heard his own story from his sons without knowing who they were.

Vālmīki teaches the text

Vālmīki Maharshi composed the whole Rāmāyaṇa. It has 7 kāṇḍas (books), 500 sargas (chapters) and 24,000 ślokas (verses). He then taught all of it to Kuśa and Lava, the two sons of Śrī Rāma and Sītā, who lived at his āśrama (hermitage).

He trained the two princes not only to recite the text but to sing it. They sang it sweetly and in proper rhythm (laya), in the way suited to vādya-yukta gāna (singing with musical instruments). They became master performers of the Rāmāyaṇa before the world knew that they were princes. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4)

The two singers

Kuśa and Lava were brahma-tejasvinau, shining with the brilliance of brahmic knowledge. They were also muni-kumārau, young princes living as munis (silent seers), who wore bark and deerskin. They had every noble quality. They were handsome, sweet in voice and free of pride.

Anyone who looked at them was amazed at how alike the two were, and at the divine light on their faces. Their faces looked like the face of Śrī Rāma himself. This likeness would later stir deep feeling in Rāma’s heart when he saw them. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4)

The performance in Ayodhyā

Kuśa and Lava sang the Rāmāyaṇa in public, beginning in the city of Ayodhyā. King Rāma heard of two young brāhmaṇas who were singing a wonderful poem, and he called them to his court.

As they sang, the brāhmaṇas, ṛshis and courtiers who had gathered were filled with deep wonder and feeling. The story of Rāma’s life came to life in verse and melody before Rāma himself. It told of his birth, his exile, the abduction of Sītā, the war with Rāvaṇa and the glad return. Those who heard it were carried beyond ordinary awareness. Even the horses in Rāma’s stables and the elephants in the royal quarters stood still and listened.

Rāma heard the account of his own life. He felt that these two singers touched the deepest part of his heart, and he honoured them greatly. He had not yet learned who they were. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4)

Why this event matters

The song of Kuśa and Lava is the first public telling of the Rāmāyaṇa. Before it, the poem was in Vālmīki’s own vision. Through the twins it passed into public song. The Rāmāyaṇa was composed as a kāvya (poem) to be sung, heard and felt. The twins had grown up not knowing their father, and through them the Rāmāyaṇa reached the world.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 4