The Story of Shravan Kumar

The Story of Shravan Kumar

The moment we hear the name of Shravan Kumar, we remember the devotion of a son towards his parents. I will not venture into the details of the most popular story of India. But who is Shravan Kumar? Who are his parents? Do we know the names of his parents? Why were they living in a forest? No one knows the answers to these questions. It is an attempt to answer these questions here:

The names of Shravan Kumar’s Parents: Father: Shantanu and Mother: Gyanavanti (Malaya)

Shravan’s father Shantanu is a Vaishya by caste, and his mother is a Shudra by her caste. They had developed an illicit relationship. Both of them committed adultery with their respective spouses. With their illicit relationship they broke the then law i.e., the Varna Ashram Dharma! Hence the grandfather of Rama and the Father of King Dasharatha – King Aja – Punished them to be blinded and exiled them from Ayodhya.

During their exiled blinded life in the forest, they were blessed with a boy Shravan Kumar, who was highly devoted to his parents. Thus, Shravan Kumar was the casteless son of a Vaishya father & Shudra mother. He was the son of the then criminals.

His parents got Shravan Kumar married. His wife was good with her husband, but she was ill-willed to his parents. The daily ruckus between his wife and her in-laws drove Shravan Kumar mad. So, he abandoned his wife and set forth on a pilgrimage with his parents. During the pilgrimage, Shravan was mistakenly killed by King Dasharatha who was on a hunting expedition. From here onward we know the story of Shravan Kumar. Now the question is – who is the wife of Sravan Kumar?

‘Manthara’ is the wife of Shravan Kumar. Remember her? She was the chief ‘dasi’ or servant of Queen Kaikeyi, 3rd wife of Dasharatha. According to Valmiki Ramayana, Kaikeyi is the third consort of King Dasharatha, and a queen of Ayodhya in the epic Ramayana. Out of Dasharatha’s three wives, Kaikeyi exerts the most influence. Manthara was the chief advisor too for Queen Kaikeyi. It was Manthara who advised Queen Kaikeyi to ask for Rama’s 14-year exile. Thus, Manthara was seeking revenge on King Dasharatha.


About the Author

Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.

What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.

Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com

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