The Divine Birth of Ram and His Brothers

Emperor Dasharath had a trustworthy prime minister named Sumantra and eight educated, scholarly ministers who helped him with government affairs. The court also included royal priests like Vashishth, Vamdev, and Javali, who advised the emperor. Despite his wealth and splendor, as well as three beautiful queens—Kaushalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi—Emperor Dasharath was unhappy because he had no children to continue his dynasty. After discussing this with his ministers and royal priests, they proposed that he perform a Putrakameshti Yagya in order to bear a child. 

Sumantra suggested inviting Rishi Shringi to conduct the yagya, which took place on the Sarayu riverbank in Ayodhya. During the ritual, the gods prayed to Vishnu, and he agreed to be born as four sons to Emperor Dasharath and his queens to destroy the demons on Earth. The Fire god then appeared with a pudding plate, conveying that if the queens ate it, they would soon bear four sons. 

After the ritual, the Emperor gave half of the sacred pudding to his eldest queen, Kaushalya. He then divided the remaining half into two equal portions, offering one to Sumitra and the other to Kaikeyi. However, since Kaikeyi received her share last, she became upset and voiced her displeasure to the emperor. At that moment, under Lord Shiv's guidance, the bird Garud swooped down, snatching the pudding from Kaikeyi's hands and delivering it into the palms of Anjani, who was deep in meditation on Mount Anjan, praying to Lord Shiv for a son. With her eyes closed in devotion, Anjani believed the pudding to be prasad from Lord Shiv and consumed it. This divine event would lead to the birth of Hanuman. Kaushalya gave some prasad from her share to Kaikeyi and some more prasad to Sumitra. After consuming the sacred offering, all three queens conceived and were filled with joy.

Nine months later, four handsome princes were born in Emperor Dasharath's palace. Kaushalya gave birth to Lord Ram, Kaikeyi to Bharat, and Sumitra to the twins, Lakshman and Shatrughna. Overjoyed by their births, the Emperor organized a grand celebration at the palace.

Thirteen days after the Lord's avatar was born, Guru Vashishth performed the naming ceremony. The first child was named Ram, as he would bring joy and liberation to the world. The second, Bharat, was named for his role in sustaining the world. The third, Shatrughna, was named for his ability to vanquish enemies. The fourth child, Lakshman, was named for his embodiment of all virtues.

King Dasharath wanted to train his sons in archery because he himself was an excellent archer. Not long after they began training, the boys became proficient in archery. Now that the four brothers had grown up, the Emperor decided it was time for them to receive advanced education. He wanted to send them to Maharshi Vashishth's ashram for this purpose, as in the tradition of ancient Bharatvarsh, everyone, whether a prince or a poor person, had to go to a guru's ashram to gain knowledge.