Lakshmana: The Devoted Brother

Who he is

Lakshmana was the son of King Dasharatha and Queen Sumitra, twin of Shatrughna, and from childhood inseparable from Ram. Tradition regards him as an incarnation of Shesha, the serpent on whom Vishnu rests. He married Urmila, sister of Sita.

His life

When Ram was exiled, no one asked Lakshmana to go. He went. His mother Sumitra blessed him with a line that sums up his whole path: regard Ram as your father, Sita as your mother, and the forest as Ayodhya. For fourteen years he built their huts, fetched food and water, and kept watch at night; tradition says he did not sleep through the whole exile, while Urmila in Ayodhya bore his share of sleep.

A much-loved detail shows his character. When Ram asked him to identify the ornaments Sita had dropped, he said he could recognise only her anklets, because he had never raised his eyes above her feet.

He was quick to anger where Ram was calm: ready to fight his own father over the exile, and Bharata at Chitrakoot, until Ram restrained him. In Lanka he was struck down by Indrajit's weapon, was revived by the Sanjeevani that Hanuman brought, and went on to slay Indrajit, Ravana's most dangerous son. See the Yuddha Kanda.

What he stands for

Service that asks for nothing, not even notice. Lakshmana had no kingdom to gain from the exile and no vow of his own to keep; he went because his brother was going. His anger is also instructive: it was always on someone else's behalf, and he always accepted Ram's check on it. Strong feeling, placed under a wiser judgment, becomes strength.

Remember Urmila too, who stayed behind for fourteen years so that her husband could serve. Read Brotherhood and family. In Ayodhya, Lakshman Ghat on the Saryu bears his name. Next: Bharata.