Kausalya
कौसल्याEldest queen of Ayodhya; mother of Rama. Also called Mother of Rama | Chief queen of Dasharatha.
Kausalya was the eldest queen of Dasharatha and mother of Rama, a figure of dignity and quiet strength who bore the loss of her son's coronation and his exile with grace rather than bitterness.
Who was Kausalya?
Who is Kausalya?
Kausalya was the eldest and chief queen of King Dasharatha and the mother of Rama. A princess of the kingdom of Kosala, she is portrayed in the Ramayana as a woman of deep devotion, patience and dignity.
Mother of Rama
It was Kausalya who received the largest share of the blessed payasam from Dasharatha’s sacrifice, and so bore Rama, the avatar of Vishnu. Her joy at his coming coronation was boundless — and her grief, when Kaikeyi‘s boons sent him to the forest instead, was equally deep. Yet she did not rage; she blessed Rama for his journey and bore her sorrow with a strength that the epic honours.
Her dignity in sorrow
After Dasharatha’s death and with three of her sons gone, Kausalya held the grieving household together. When Rama finally returned after fourteen years, it was to her that he first bowed. She stands in the Ramayana for the suffering and steadfastness of a mother whose love never curdles into bitterness.
