Lava ( sa, लव) and his twin brother

Kusha Kusha was a Suryavansha The Solar dynasty ( IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98 ...

, are the children of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

and

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

tradition. Their story is recounted in the

epic, ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' and its other versions. He is said to have a whitish golden complexion like their mother, while Kusha had a blackish complexion like their father.

Birth and childhood

Valmiki train Lava Kushas in Art of Archery

The Poet Valmiki, teaching Ramayana to Kusa and Lava

The first chapter of Ramayana, ''

Balakanda ''Bala Kanda'' ( sa, बालकाण्ड; IAST: ', ) is the first book of the Valmiki ''Ramayana'', which is one of the two great epics of India (the other being the ''Mahabharata''). There has been debate as to whether ''Bala Kanda'' was c ...

,'' mentioned

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

narrating the Ramayana to his disciples, Lava and Kusha. But their birth and childhood story is mentioned in the last chapter '''Uttara Kanda which is not believed to be the original work of Valmiki. According to the legend,

banished herself from the kingdom due to the gossip of the kingdom folk about her sanctity. She chose self-exile and took refuge in the ashram of

located on the banks of the

Tamsa river The Tamsa River (also called as Tons river) is a tributary of the Ganges flowing through the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Course The Tamsa rises in a tank at Tamakund in the Kaimur Range at an elevation of . It flows ...

. Lava and Kusha were born at the ashram and were educated and trained in

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

skills under the teachings of Sage Valmiki. In which the time they had also learned the story of Rama. Lava & kusha chant Ramayana before Rama

During an Ashvamedha Yagya held by

, Sage Valmiki along with Lava and Kusha, attended with

in disguise. In some versions of the epic, Lava and Kusha chanted the Ramayana in the presence of Rama and a vast audience. When Lava and Kusha recited about Sita's exile, Rama became grief-stricken and Valmiki produced Sita. Sita, struck with embarrassment and grief, called upon the earth, her mother ( Bhumi), to receive her and as the ground opened, she vanished into it. Rama then learnt that Lava and Kusha were his children, whom he meets after 12 years after their birth as mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana. In some versions, Lava and Kusha capture the horse of the sacrifice and went to defeat Rama's brothers (

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

, Bharata and

Shatrughna ''Shatrughna'' ( sa, text=शत्रुघ्न, translit=śatrughna, lit=killer of enemies) is a prince of Ayodhya, King of Madhupura and Vidisha, and a brother of Prince Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is also known as ''Ripudaman' ...

) and their armies. When Rama came to fight with them, Sita intervenes and unites father and sons.

Later life

Lava and Kusha became rulers after their father Rama founded the cities of

Lavapuri Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

and

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...

, respectively. The king of Kosala,

, installed his son Lava at

Shravasti Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the an ...

and Kusha at

Kushavati Kushavati was a city in Kosala Kingdom as per epic Ramayana. The king of Kosala Lord Rama installed his son Lava at Sravasti on the northern part of the kingdom and Kusha at Kushavati in the south. It was located on the slopes of the Vindhya Ra ...

In popular culture

Lava is purported to have founded ''Lavapuri'' (the modern day city of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

), which is named after him. There is a temple associated with Lava (or Loh) inside Shahi Qila, Lahore.Ahmed, Shoaib
"Lahore Fort dungeons to re-open after more than a century."
''Daily Times''. 3 November 2004. There are various communities and clans in modern India that claim descent from Lava, an example being the "Levas", a branch of which are the Leva Patidars and Leuva Marathas.

References

{{Ramayana Solar dynasty Characters in the Ramayana