Yūpaketu
Yūpaketu was the second son of Śatrughna and Śrutakīrti. He was one of the eight royal princes of Ayodhyā who were born during Rāma-rājya, the rule of Bhagavān Rāma. He was born as a twin with his elder brother Subāhu. The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells of his birth, his studies and his two marriages.
Birth and childhood
Yūpaketu was the second of the twin sons of Śatrughna and Śrutakīrti. The Janma Khaṇḍa records that Śrutakīrti gave birth to kavalalu (twins). Divine music sounded at their birth. The devas sent showers of flowers, and Rāma arranged festivals along the royal avenues of Ayodhyā. Vasiṣṭha performed the jātakarma (the birth rite) and the naming ceremony. Subāhu was named as the elder, and Yūpaketu as the second.
Yūpaketu grew up in the palace with seven other royal princes:
- Kuśa and Lava, the sons of Rāma and Sītā
- Aṅgada and Citraketu, the sons of Lakṣmaṇa
- Puṣkara and Takṣa, the sons of Bharata
- his twin elder brother Subāhu
The Janma Khaṇḍa gives a delightful picture of all eight princes. They play in the royal halls, wear golden ornaments, and walk in the corridors with the charm of the young. This is told in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9.
Upanayana and Vedic study
Vasiṣṭha performed Yūpaketu’s upanayana (the sacred thread ceremony). He studied the Vedas at Vasiṣṭha’s feet, together with all eight princes. After this he joined the great tīrtha-yātrā (journey to holy places) through all the sacred sites of Bhāratavarṣa. He returned to Ayodhyā after five months, and the city celebrated greatly. This is told in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9.
The Vivāha Khaṇḍa account
Marriage to Mālatī
Twelve gandharva and nāga daughters were freed from the captivity of the water devī Jaladevī at the Pañcappa lake in Daṇḍakāraṇya. After this, Vasiṣṭha Maharṣi gave the nāga maiden Mālatī to Yūpaketu as his bride. The wedding took place at Ayodhyā at an auspicious time in the month of Māgha. Yūpaketu was kept apart from the gandharva daughters, because Vasiṣṭha knew beforehand that he would marry another virtuous woman by the rākṣasa method. This is told in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Khaṇḍa, Chapters 6–7.
The rākṣasa marriage with Madanasundarī
The best known event of Yūpaketu’s life in the Vivāha Khaṇḍa is his rākṣasa-vivāha (marriage by capture) with Madanasundarī. She was the daughter of the Draviḍa king Kambukantha of Śivakāñcīpura.
All the kings of the world had agreed to keep the princes of Rāma’s house out of Madanasundarī’s svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a princess chooses her husband). The princess prayed to Nārada for Rāma’s protection. Nārada met Yūpaketu on the banks of the Tamasā. Yūpaketu set out at once for Kāñcī with a small army.
At the svayaṃvara hall, Yūpaketu used the Mohanāstra to make the whole assembly fall unconscious. He took Madanasundarī’s hands and gave her his name and his lineage. She placed her garland on him.
He drove out of Kāñcī. The kings woke and gave chase, and he fought them with the Vāyavyāstra, which sent them flying in all directions. He then fought Kambukantha himself in single combat. He broke Kambukantha’s bow, chariot, armour, crown and horses, and cut his mace to pieces. He captured the king on foot and bound him to the flagpole of his chariot. When Yūpaketu raised his sword, Madanasundarī pleaded for her father, and Yūpaketu spared him.
Śatrughna then arrived with the full army. Father and son knew each other by the nāmāṅkita-bāṇas (arrows marked with names). Peace was made with Kambukantha. Bhagavān Rāma came to Kāñcī with Sītā, and the formal wedding took place there at an auspicious time. The couple then returned to Ayodhyā. This is told in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 8.
Children
The genealogical account says that Mālatī and Madanasundarī each bore Yūpaketu eight sons and one daughter. This is told in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9.
Sources
- Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9
- Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Khaṇḍa, Chapters 6–9