Well, I hope you have at least heard about her. If not, then let me reveal to you one of the most under-performing characters of Ramayana. In fact, it was very late for me too when I came to know about her.
The Four Brothers
We all know that Lord Rama had 3 other brothers, namely, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughana. However, there is a little reference to the name of Shanta, who was elder to all of them.
Who was Shanta?
Shanta is a character in the Ramayana. She was the daughter of Dasharatha and Kausalya, adopted by the couple Rompad and Vershini. Shanta was a wife of Rishyasringa. The descendants of Shanta and Rishyasringa are Sengar Rajputs who are called the only Rishivanshi Rajputs.
Story of Shanta
Shanta was a daughter of Maharajah Dasharatha and Kausalya, but was adopted by the King (Rajah) of Angadesh, Raja Rompad, and her aunt Vershini, an elder sister of Kausalya. Vershini had no children, and, when at Ayodhya, Vershini jokingly asked for offspring. Dasharatha agreed to allow the adoption of his daughter. However, the word of Raghukul was binding, and Shanta became the Princess of Angadesh.
The reason of her marriage
Shanta was educated in Vedas, Art and Craft, and was considered to have been very beautiful. One day, while her uncle, the King Rompad, was busy in conversation with Shanta, a Brahmin came to ask for help in cultivation in the days of the monsoon. Rompad did not pay attention to the Brahmin’s plight. This irritated and enraged the Brahmin, who left the kingdom. Indradev, the God of Rain, was unable to bear the insult of his devotee, so there was little rainfall during the monsoon season. The Rajah called Rishyasringa to perform Yagya, he agreed to perform Yagya and during the recitation of it, it rained heavily. The public rejoiced and there were festivals in Angadesh. To pay honour to their saviour, Dashratha, along with Kausalya, Vershini, and Rompad, decided to give the hand of Shanta to Rishyasringa.
Instrumental in the birth of her brothers
As Dashratha had no children after Shanta, he wanted a son to continue his legacy and to enrich his royal dynasty. He called Rishyasringa to perform a Putra Kameshthi Yagya to beget progeny, and as the consequence of the said Yagya were born: Rama, Bharata, and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Variations in her stories
The story, as every other story of these epics, has got many versions. We will try to check some of them.
