Lakshmana
Younger brother and constant companion of Rama in the Ramayana
- Known from
- Valmiki's Ramayana
- Parents
- King Dasharatha and Queen Sumitra
- Brother
- Rama (half-brother); twin Shatrughna
- Wife
- Urmila
- Regarded as
- Incarnation of the serpent Shesha
Rama's loyal younger brother, who shares his fourteen-year exile, fights in the war against Lanka, and rides home in the Pushpaka.
What is Lakshmana known for?
Lakshmana is Rama's younger half-brother in the Ramayana, a son of King Dasharatha by Queen Sumitra. When Rama is exiled for fourteen years, Lakshmana insists on going with him and Sita, and serves as their guard in the forest.
He fights throughout the war against Ravana and, in the epic, kills Ravana's son Indrajit. After the victory he joins Rama, Sita and their allies on the flight back to Ayodhya in the Pushpaka. Later retellings add the 'Lakshmana rekha', a protective line he draws around Sita's dwelling; this episode is not in Valmiki's text.
Hindu tradition regards Lakshmana as an incarnation of Shesha, the serpent on whom Vishnu rests, and as an example of brotherly devotion. He is known only from epic and devotional literature.
He is named among the passengers of the Pushpaka vimana on its flight from Lanka to Ayodhya.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holePushpaka Vimana
- PersonRama
- PersonVibhishana
- PlaceAyodhya
Sources
- Valmiki, Ramayana, trans. Ralph T. H. Griffith, sacred-texts.comPrimary text
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Ramayana'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Lakshmana'Reference
Pictures on profile pages are drawn placeholders, not likenesses. Public-domain portraits and photographs will replace them.