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Fifteen years had passed since Ram, king of Kosala, had exiled his wife and queen Sita to the forest, to the sage Valmiki's ashram.
Fifteen years had passed too since, unknown to Ram, his twin sons had been born to Sita in the forest. The elder twin had been named Kush, after the kusha grass with which Valmiki blessed him on his birth. The younger twin was called Lav, which means 'bit' or 'piece', after the bits of grass stems which Valmiki had used to bless him.
Ram had grieved for Sita, but putting duty and the good of his kingdom before personal sorrow, he had concentrated on ruling Kosala as well as he could. Ram had proved a wise and able ruler. Under his rule, Kosala had become a strong and prosperous kingdom. Bharat and Lakshman had remained by Ram's side in Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala, as his counselors and advisers. Shatrughn had been sent by Ram to rule a kingdom on the borders of Kosala.
Now, fifteen long years after Sita had been banished, Ram felt that his kingdom of Kosala, had become supreme in all the world. He felt the time had come to consolidate his sovereignty over the surrounding lands. So he decided to hold the Ashwamedha yagna, the horse sacrifice held periodically by all the great kings of ancient India.
Ram made Lakshman in charge of the festival. The site for the sacrifice was chosen by Ram - the Naimisha forest on the banks of the river Gomti. All the great sages were invited - Vashishtha, Jabali, Kashyap, Vamadev. So were Ram's friends and allies in the war against Ravan. Sugriv and the monkeys, Jambavan and the bears, Vibhishan and his rakshasa ministers from Lanka, Hanuman, Ram's especial friend and follower - all Ram's closest friends and allies had gathered there with him. Only Sita was missing - his wife and queen. Ram ordered a statue of Sita to be made, cast in pure gold. He commanded that the statue be placed by his side during the sacrifice in place of his banished queen.
Lav and Kush, the Royal Twins cont'd...
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