Untold Myth In Ramayana

#1. King Dashratha had one more child. And here’s how Ram and his brothers were born. Before Ram and his brothers were born, King Dashratha and his first wife Kaushalya had a daughter named Shanta. Kaushalya’s elder sister Vershini and her husband Raja Rompad (who was a great friend of Raja Dashratha as they studied in same Ashram) had no offspring. Once, when Vershini was in Ayodhya, she joked around asking for a child, to which Dashratha promised her she can adopt his daughter, Shanta. As the promise of ‘Raghukul’ had to be kept, Shanta was adopted by Raja Rompad, the king of Angdesh. One fine day, when Shanta was grown up to be an adult and was now a very beautiful woman, she was in a conversation with Raja Rompad. At this time, a Brahmin came to visit King Rompad requesting help for cultivation during the monsoon. Busy in the conversation with his adopted daughter Shanta, Raja Rompad ignored the Brahmin who left the kingdom. Lord Indra, the God of rains, was offended because a Brahmin devotee of his was insulted. Lord Indra decided to punish Rompad and hence, it did not rain in the coming monsoon. To get free from this curse, Raja Rompad called a Rishi, Rishi Rishyasringa, to perform a Yagna asking the Lords for rains, which succeeded. To pay honour to the Rishi, King Dashratha and King Rompad decided to marry-off Shanta to Rishyasringa. As Dahsratha had no heir yet, he then called Rishyasringa to perform a Yagna for him too, after which the God of Fire gave a dessert to Dashratha for his wives to consume, eating which: Ram and his brothers were born. #2. The interesting story behind the 10 heads of Ravan: who in fact was an extraordinary Veena Player and a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. Considered the antagonist of the epic, Ravan, factually, was a great follower of Shiva, an inordinate scholar, an excellent ruler and a maestro of Veena. Attaining education, Ravan underwent a colossal penance to please Lord Shiva on the banks of river Narmada. Willing to please the Lord, Ravan axed his head. Each time that happened, the head grew back, which continued 10 times, pleasing Shiva. Shiva thus granted 10 heads to Ravan that he sacrificed. These 10 heads indicate the six shastras and the four vedas that Ravan mastered. After winning over Lanka, Ravan again went to meet Shiva in Kailash, where he was denied entry by Nandi-Shiva’s gatekeeper. Annoyed, Ravan teased him and hence a furious Nandi cursed him that his Lanka would be destroyed by a monkey! To prove his devotedness to Shiva, Ravan tried to lift Kailash. Angry Shiva placed a toe on the hill and Ravan’s hand crushed beneath it, so painfully that his cry shook the world. To please Shiva now, Ravan plucked out his nerves and played Shiva’s praise to which Shiva released him and gifted him a sword and gave him the name Ravan, which means “the one with terrifying roar”. #3. Laxman did not sleep for the entire 14 years of Ram’s exile! Urmila, his wife, made a huge sacrifice to make this possible. Urmila, the wife of Laxman, was ready to accompany him when he was leaving for exile with Ram, but he forced her to stay home. When in forest, Laxman wanted to protect Ram and Sita day and night and wanted to defeat sleep. He thus approached the Goddess of Sleep – Nindra – and asked her to overlook him for the next 14 years. Nindra commanded that someone else must sleep on his behalf to create balance, and Laxman asked her to consider his wife Urmila for this. Nindra went to the Ayodhya Palace and asked Urmaila if she would take up Laxman’s sleep, which she gladly did. Urmila slept for 14 years, till the day of Ram’s coronation, and had it not been for her, Laxman would never have been able to slay Meghnath as Megnath was granted a boon that he could only be killed by Gudakesh: the one who defeated sleep! #4. Ram is the reincarnation of Vishnu, but who are his brothers reincarnations of? As Ram is considered an incarnation of Vishnu, Bharat and Shatrughan are considered