Shatrughna

Shatrughna
Shatrughna, the youngest Prince of Ayodhya
Affiliation	Avatar of Sudarshana Chakra of Vishnu
Texts	Ramayana and its other versions
Genealogy
Born	Ayodhya, Kosala (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
Parents	Dasharatha (father) Sumitra (mother)
Siblings	Lakshmana (brother) Rama (half-brother) Bharata (half-brother)
Spouse	Shrutakirti
Children	Subahu Shatrughati
Dynasty	Raghuvamsha-Suryavamsha

Shatrughna (Sanskrit: शत्रुघ्न, lit. 'killer of enemies', IAST: Śatrughna), also known as Ripudaman, is the younger brother of Rama, and King of Madhupura and Vidisha, in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is considered as an incarnation of the Sudarshana Chakra of god Vishnu, and was married to Shrutakirti.^[1]

Shatrughna is the twin of Lakshmana. He is a loyalist of Bharata, just like Lakshmana is to Rama.^[2] Shatrughna appears as the 412th name of Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranama of the Mahabharata.^[3]

Etymology

The name Shatrughna is of Sanskrit origin. Shatru means 'enemy' and Ghna means 'kill'. His name means 'killer of enemies'.^[4]

Legend

Birth and early life

King Dasharatha of Ayodhya had three wives: Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. Shatrughan and his elder brother Lakshmana were born to Sumitra, while Rama and Bharata were born to Kausalya and Kaikeyi.^[5] In the Ramayana, he is described as an incarnation of Sudarshana Chakra.^[6]

Marriage to Shrutakirti

Wedding ceremony of Shrutakirti and Shatrughna

After Rama won the svayamvara of Sita, their marriage was fixed. King Dasharatha arrived in Mithila for his son's wedding and noticed that Lakshmana had feelings for Urmila, but according to tradition, Bharata and Mandavi were to marry first.^[7][8] King Dasharatha then arranged for Bharata to marry Mandavi and Shatrughna to marry Shrutakirti, allowing Lakshmana to marry Urmila. Ultimately, all four sisters married the four brothers, strengthening the alliance between the two kingdoms.^[9] Shatrughna and Shrutakirti had two sons named Subahu and Shatrughati.^[10]

Rama's exile

Bharata and Shatrughna leave for Kaikeya, taking leave from Dasharatha, Rama and Lakshmana

When Rama was exiled, Shatrughna dragged Kaikeyi's old nurse Manthara (who was responsible for poisoning the queen's mind against Rama) and tried to kill her, but he was restrained by Bharata, who felt that Rama would not approve. Bharata went to Rama and asked him to come back to Ayodhya, but Rama refused. Bharata ruled Ayodhya from Nandigram and was an excellent leader, acting as the very embodiment of dharma. Although Bharata was the king designate of Ayodhya during Rama's exile, it was Shatrughna who undertook of the administration of the whole kingdom during Rama's absence. Shatrughna was the only solace for the three queen mothers during the absence of Rama, Lakshmana, and Bharata from Ayodhya.^[11]

Rage against Manthara

Manthara appears only once in the Ramayana after Rama's banishment. Having been rewarded by Kaikeyi with costly clothing and jewels, she was walking in the palace gardens when Bharata and his half-brother Shatrughna came upon her. Seeing her, Shatrughna flew into a violent rage over Rama's banishment decided to attack her. Kaikeyi begged Bharata to save her, which he did, telling Shatrughna that it would be a sin to kill a woman, and that Rama would be furious with both of them if he did such a thing. He relented and the brothers left, while Kaikeyi attempted to comfort Manthara.^[12]

Slaying of Lavanasura

Shatrughna slays Lavana

Although he played a relatively minor role in the Ramayana, Shatrughna was important to the main story and goal of the epic. His chief exploit was the killing of Lavanasura, the demon King of Madhupura (Mathura),^[13] who was a nephew of Ravana, the King of Lanka, slain by Rama.

Lavanasura was the son of Madhu, the pious demon-king after whom the city of Madhupura was named. Madhu's wife and Lavanusara's mother Kumbhini was a sister of Ravana. Lavanasura was holder of the divine Trishula (Trident) of Lord Shiva, and nobody was able to kill him or prevent him from committing sinful activities.^[14]

Shatrughna requested Rama and his elder brothers to allow him the opportunity to serve them by killing Lavanasura. Shatrughna killed the demon with an arrow imbibed with the power of Vishnu. After Lavanasura's death, Rama crowned him King of Madhupura.^[15][16]

Death

Shatrughna divided his kingdom consisting of Madhupura and Vidisha between his sons Subahu and Shatrughati.^[17][18] After Rama, the seventh Avatar of Vishnu completed 11,000 years of perfectly pious rule upon earth, walked into the river Sarayu to return to his true and eternal Mahavishnu form, Bharata and Shatrughna also followed him into the river and later merged into Mahavishnu.^[19]

Assessment

Shatrughna was the youngest of the fourth brothers. He dedicated himself in the service of his brother, Bharata. When Bharata, decided to stay at Nandigram, Shatrughan wanted to accompany him. But on his brother's request, he stayed in Ayodhya and looked after the state as an administrator. Shatrughan also looked after all his three mothers.^[20]

Worship

In the Medak district of Telangana, there is a temple called Sri Kalyana Ramachandra Sannadhi that is dedicated to Shatrughna and Shrutakirti. This temple is the only one in India that has installed statues of Rama's brothers and their wives.^[21][22]

Another temples dedicated to him are as follow:

• Shatrughna Temple at Payammal in Thrissur District of Kerala
• Shatrughna Temple at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh
• Shatrughna Temple near Kans-tila, Mathura, UP

In popular culture

Television

The following people portrayed Shatrughna in the television adaptation of Ramayana.

• Sameer Rajda portrayed him in the 1987 series Ramayan and the 1998 series Luv Kush.^[23]
• Hitesh Kumar portrayed him in the 1997 series Jai Hanuman.
• Amit Pachori portrayed him in the 2002 series Ramayan.
• Lalit Negi portrayed him in the 2008 series Ramayan.
• Harshad Arora portrayed him in the 2011 series Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev.^[24]
• Shreshth Kumar / Nishant Kumar portrayed him in the 2015 series Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanumaan.
• Pratham Kunwar portrayed him in the 2015 series Siya Ke Ram
• Akhil Kataria portrayed him in the 2019 series Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush
• Samarthya Gupta portrayed him in the 2024 series Shrimad Ramayan^[25]
• Pushya Mitra portrayed him in 2024 DD National series Kakabhushundi Ramayan- Anasuni Kathayein.

YouTube

• Sumukh Mehrishi portrayed him in 2024 YouTube series Valmiki Ramayan.

Books

• Shatrughna Charit by Ravindra Shukla 'Ravi', published in 2014.^[26]

References

1. Dharma, Krishna (18 August 2020). Ramayana: India's Immortal Tale of Adventure, Love, and Wisdom. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-68383-919-4.
2. Books, Kausiki (21 December 2021). Valmiki Ramayana: Uttara Kanda: English translation only without Slokas. Kausiki Books.
3. Naidu, S. Shankar Raju; Kampar, Tulasīdāsa (1971). "A comparative study of Kamba Ramayanam and Tulasi Ramayan". Shank. University of Madras. pp. 44, 148. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
4. "Ramayana | Summary, Characters, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
5. Mani, Vettam (1975). Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 448-9. ISBN 978-0-8426-0822-0.
6. Śrīgargasaṃhitā: Kīrtibhāṣāsārasahitā (in Sanskrit). Vyāsa Bālābakṣa Śodhasaṃsthāna. 2000.
7. Praśānta Guptā (1998). Vālmīkī Rāmāyaṇa. Dreamland Publications. p. 32. ISBN 9788173012549.
8. Dawar, Sonalini Chaudhry (2006). Ramayana, the Sacred Epic of Gods and Demons. Om Books International. ISBN 9788187107675.
9. Debroy, Bibek (2005). The History of Puranas. Bharatiya Kala Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-8090-062-4.
10. "The Ramayana and Mahabharata: Conclusion". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
11. "A tail's travel from Treta Yuga to DwaparaYuga" (PDF). shabdbooks.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2022.
12. Ohri, Vishwa Chander (1983). The exile in forest. Lalit Kalā Akademi, India. OCLC 10349809.
13. Pargiter, F.E. (1972). Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p.170.
14. Kumar, Maltinandan. Chalein Such Ki Aur (in Hindi). Notion Press. ISBN 978-93-5206-582-0.
15. Agarwal, Meena (22 September 2016). Tales From The Ramayan. Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-5261-304-5.
16. www.wisdomlib.org (26 May 2020). "Lavanasura, Lavaṇāsura: 2 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
17. Frederic Salmon Growse (1874). Mathura: A District Memoir. Government Press.
18. CORPUS INSCRIPTIONS INDICARUM VOL II PART II. GOVERNMENT EPIGRAPHIST FOR INDIA, OOTACAMUND. 1963. p. 9.
19. MacFie, J. M. (1 May 2004). The Ramayan Of Tulsidas Or The Bible Of Northern India. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4179-1498-2.
20. "Shatrughna – Brother of Rama". Retrieved 23 December 2022.
21. "Sri Kalyana Ramachandra Swamy temple: Small wonder on a hillock". Deccan Chronicle. 3 December 2017.
22. "This unique Rama temple near Hyderabad where Hanuman finds no place". The News Minute. 17 April 2016.
23. "Ramayana cast and characters: A full list". www.timesnownews.com. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
24. Bhattacharyya, Anushree (27 August 2013). "An epic battle". The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
25. "Samarthya Gupta to play Shatrughna in Srimad Ramayana, says 'I'm immensely passionate about acting'". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
26. Ravindra Shukla 'Ravi' (2014). Shatrughna Charit. Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 9789382901518.

Further reading

• Ramayana, translated in English by Griffith, from Project Gutenberg
• Poddar, Hanuman Prasad (2001), Balkand, 94 (in Awadhi and Hindi), Gorakhpur: Gita Press, ISBN 81-293-0406-6, archived from the original on 13 July 2010
• Bhalla, Prem P. (1 January 2009), The Story Of Sri Ram, Peacock Books, ISBN 978-81-248-0191-8

External links

• Satrughna and Mathura in the Uttarakanda
• Shatrughna Temple at Muni Ke Reti, Rishikesh