Sumitra

Sumitra (, IAST: Sumitrā) is a princess of Kashi and the queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sumitra is the second queen consort of Dasharatha, the king of Kosala, who ruled from Ayodhya. Regarded to be a wise and dedicated woman, she is the mother of the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

Etymology

The name Sumitra is of Sanskrit origin, and could be divided into ''Su'' meaning good, and ''Mitra,'' meaning friend''.'' Thus'','' her name means 'a good friend' or 'one with a friendly nature'. She is known in other languages as Tamil: சுமித்திரை (), Burmese: Thumitra, Malay: Samutra, Khmer '' and '' ''Samutthra Thewi'').

Legend

Birth

While Valmiki is silent on her parentage, later texts variously described her as a princess of Kashi or of Magadha, and belonging to the Haiheya clan. She is called the daughter of Magadha, as per Kalidasa’s '' Raghuvamsham''. Kalidasa wrote,

Marriage and children

Sumitra was married to king Dasharatha as his second queen consort. In the '' Balakanda'' chapter of the ''Ramayana'', Sumitra first appears.

Sumitra performs the asvamedha yagna alongside Dasharatha and his two other wives in hopes of blessings for children. At the sacrifice conducted by Rishyasringa to obtain sons for the childless Dasharatha, a divine being emerged from the flames with a golden vessel filled with divine '' payasam'' (a milk delicacy) prepared by the gods. Dasharatha offers half of this divine food to Kausalya, a quarter to Sumitra (i.e., literally 'half of that which remained'), an eighth to Kaikeyi (i.e., again, 'half of that which remained'), and then, upon reflection, gives the final eighth to Sumitra again.

Consequently, Kausalya gives birth to the prince Rama and Kaikeyi to Bharata. Having received two portions, Sumitra became the mother of twins, Lakshmana and Satrughna.

Her elder son Lakshmana married Urmila, daughter of Janaka, King of Mithila and her younger son Shatrughan, married Shrutakirti, daughter of Janaka's brother Kushadhvaja.

Rama's exile

Sumitra is known to encourage her son Lakshmana to go into exile with Rama. Sumitra is described to have found a lot of happiness around her son Lakshmana, with the latter being described as the 'enhancer of her joy' and is also known as Saumitra ().

Despite this, she sends her son in his brother's service. Before his departure, Sumitra tells Lakshmana, "Ram is your elder brother, and the future king. Do not neglect your duty. Serve and guard him, and show your devotion, at all times."

Assessment

Neither the principal queen nor the favoured wife, Sumitra was single-minded in her devotion to her husband and to the senior queen, Kausalya. Considered as the wisest of Dasharatha's three wives, she supported Lakshmana's decision to accompany Rama, to serve him during his exile, and comforted Kausalya after the departure of her son.

In the ''Ramayana'', Sumitra is faultless and charming and skilled in her employment of words. Sumitra's husband, Dasharatha deems her worthy and is fearful of losing the respect in her eyes. He says,

Literature

After the exile of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana, the benevolent Sumitra consoles Queen Kausalya with her persuasive words:

During Rama's consecration, Sumitra offers her blessings to the prince:

In popular culture

Films

* Suma portrayed Sumitra in the 1997 Telugu film ''Ramayanam''.
* Dishi Duggal voiced Sumitra in the 2010 animated Hindi film '' Ramayana: The Epic''.
* Sandhya Janak portrayed Sumitra in the 2011 Telugu film '' Sri Rama Rajyam''.

Television

* Rajnibala portrayed Sumitra in the 1987 series '' Ramayan'' and the 1988 series '' Luv Kush''.
* Jyoti Joshi portrayed Sumitra in the 2002 series '' Ramayan''.
* Sangeeta Kapure portrayed Sumitra in the 2008 series '' Ramayan''.
* Anushka Singh portrayed Sumitra in the 2011 series '' Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev''.
* Anjalie Gupta portrayed Sumitra in the 2012 series '' Ramayan''.
* Kanishka Soni portrayed Sumitra in the 2015 series ''Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanumaan''.
* Sampada Vaze portrayed Sumitra in the 2015 series '' Siya Ke Ram''.
* Preeti Gandwani portrayed Sumitra in the 2018 series '' Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush''.
* Bhawna Aneja portrayed Sumitra in the 2024 series '' Shrimad Ramayan''.
* Gurpreet Kaur Sandhu portrayed Sumitra in 2024 DD National series Kakabhushundi Ramayan- Anasuni Kathayein.

YouTube

* Priyankshi Keswani portrayed Sumitra in 2024 YouTube series Valmiki Ramayan.

See also

* Kausalya
* Kaikeyi

References

External links

Ramayana, translated in English by
Griffith, from Project Gutenberg

{{Ramayana

Solar dynasty
Characters in the Ramayana
Queens in Hindu mythology