The Ramayana is not just a hero’s story. No doubt Sri Rama did heroic deeds, but the Ramayana is also the story of a family. In most respects, it is a family like a typical royal family. King Dasharatha, the head of the family, had three wives who had the usual rivalries among them. The youngest queen, Kaikeyi, was the king’s favourite. She used this to overshadow the two elder queens, Kaushalya and Sumitra. If there was one thing missing in this family, it was children. King Dasharatha performed a sacrifice called Putrakameshti Yagya to obtain sons, as a result of which, four sons were born. The love these four brothers had for each other has no parallel in history. When we look at families around us, we see siblings fighting over a share of the wealth despite being children of the same mother. This makes the royal family in Ramayana all the more unbelievable as these four brothers, though born of three different mothers, never had a single fight.
Since they came into the world as a result of a yagya, there was a little time gap between the births of the four brothers. Sri Rama was born on the ninth day of the month of Chaitra (April-May) to Kaushalya. Bharata followed at dawn on the tenth day to Kaikeyi, while the twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna, were born to Sumitra later the same day. Despite there being only a difference of hours in their ages, the three younger ones always honoured Sri Rama as the eldest. In no instance did any of the younger brothers go against the eldest brother’s wish.
The throne of Ayodhya was a big prize, but there was never any rivalry between the brothers. When Sri Rama’s coronation was announced, there was no dissent from any brother. On the contrary, when Kaikeyi had Sri Rama’s coronation cancelled to secure the throne for her son Bharata, he not only severely criticised his mother but also refused to accept the throne. He upheld this for fourteen years until Sri Rama came back from exile. Lakshmana went a step further and accompanied Sri Rama in the forest, leaving his wife and mother behind. Such love continued among the brothers throughout their lives, and when they became old, they even left the world together. Due to a promise given to Kala (time), Sri Rama had to abandon Lakshmana. After this, Lakshmana had no desire to live any further. He entered the Sarayu River and left this world. Sri Rama too decided to leave the world. Bharata and Shatrughna decided that they would accompany him. Thus, the loving brothers who lived together, also left the world together, setting an example of brotherhood.