Kusha (Ramayana)
Kusha (Sanskrit: कुश, Tamil: குசன், Malay: Gusi, Thai: Mongkut, Khmer: Ramalaks), in Hindu mythology, was one of the twin sons of Lord Rama and Sita (the other being Lava). Born in the Forest after Sita had been banished from Ayodhya, they were educated and trained in military skills and were under the care of Sage Valmiki. When Rama performed the Ashvamedha Yagya, then they challenged their father (who was at this point unknown to them) to a duel by holding up the Yagya horse. When Rama found out their identity, he took them back to Ayodhya. Also called "Kush," he was believed to be the ruler of a kingdom centered at Kasur in ancient times[1], and the present day Pakistani city still references him in name. His brother Lava is purported to be the founder of Lahore.
The illustrious line of kings which ruled Kashi (Kasi), also called Varanasi, was derived from him. The Mauryan dynasty, an empire that ruled the Indian sub-continent (320-185 BC) claimed descent from Kush.
[edit] Legend of birth
Once, Sita mata was going for a bath to the nearby river (tamsa), and while she was going for bath she requested muni Valmiki to look after her son Lava , and muni nodded his head in agreement while he was busy writing. After going some steps she noticed that muni was continuously engrossed in writing, so she took Lava with herself. After some time when muni looked for the child who was supposed to be somewhere around, he could not find Lava. Muni was not aware of the fact that Sita herself had taken Lava with her. Muni was worried what he would say when Sita returned and asked for her child. So he created a child boy from nearby Kush (a grass used for making mats and roofs of kutiya’s in ancient India) and gave life to it. When Sita returned, Muni was surprised to see that Lava was with her, so he asked Sita to take care of both children as her own children. Since Valmiki muni used Kusha to make the child, the child was given the name Kusha. Also Valmiki was born in the mind of Lord Brahma (god who creates universe) he was having powers to give life.
[edit] References
- ^ Nadiem, Ihsan N. "Kasur ancient name". Punjab, Pg.111. Google Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=pyFuAAAAMAAJ&q=Kasur+Kusha&dq=Kasur+Kusha&ei=9rwgSritBZWQyASHk7maDw&pgis=1. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
[edit] External links
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