Sumitra (, IAST: Sumitrā) is a princess of Kashi and the queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Sumitra is the second queen consort of Dasharatha, the king of Kosala, who ruled from Ayodhya.
Etymology
The name Sumitra is of
Sanskrit origin, and could be divided into
Su meaning good, and
Mitra, meaning friend
. Thus
, her name means 'a good friend' or 'one with a friendly nature'. She is known in other languages as
Tamil language: சுமித்திரை (),
Burmese language: Thumitra,
Malay language: Samutra,
Khmer language and Samutthra Thewi).
Legend
Birth
While Valmiki is silent on her parentage, later texts variously described her as a princess of Kashi or of Magadha, and belonging to the
Heheya Kingdom clan.
She is called the daughter of Magadha, as per
Kalidasa’s
Raghuvamsham.
Kalidasa wrote,
Marriage and children
Sumitra was married to king
Dasharatha as his second queen consort. In the
Balakanda chapter of the
Ramayana, Sumitra first appears.
Sumitra performs the Ashvamedha alongside Dasharatha and his two other wives in hopes of blessings for children.
Consequently, Kausalya gives birth to the prince Rama and Kaikeyi to Bharata. Having received two portions, Sumitra became the mother of twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Her elder son Lakshmana married Urmila, daughter of Janaka, King of Mithila and her younger son Shatrughan, married Shrutakirti, daughter of Janaka's brother Kushadhvaja.
Rama's exile
Sumitra is known to encourage her son Lakshmana to go into exile with Rama.
Sumitra is described to have found a lot of happiness around her son Lakshmana, with the latter being described as the 'enhancer of her joy' and is also known as Saumitra ().
Despite this, she sends her son in his brother's service.
Assessment
Neither the principal queen nor the favoured wife, Sumitra was single-minded in her devotion to her husband and to the senior queen, Kausalya.
Considered as the wisest of Dasharatha's three wives, she supported Lakshmana's decision to accompany Rama, to serve him during his exile, and comforted Kausalya after the departure of her son.
In the Ramayana, Sumitra is faultless and charming and skilled in her employment of words.
Literature
After the exile of Rama,
Sita, and Lakshmana, the benevolent Sumitra consoles Queen
Kausalya with her persuasive words:
During Rama's consecration, Sumitra offers her blessings to the prince:
In popular culture
Films
-
Suma portrayed Sumitra in the 1997 Telugu film Ramayanam.
-
Dishi Duggal voiced Sumitra in the 2010 animated Hindi film .
-
Sandhya Janak portrayed Sumitra in the 2011 Telugu film Sri Rama Rajyam.
Television
-
Rajnibala portrayed Sumitra in the 1987 series Ramayan and the 1988 series Luv Kush.
-
Jyoti Joshi portrayed Sumitra in the 2002 series Ramayan.
-
Sangeeta Kapure portrayed Sumitra in the 2008 series Ramayan.
-
Anushka Singh portrayed Sumitra in the 2011 series Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev.
-
Anjalie Gupta portrayed Sumitra in the 2012 series Ramayan.
-
Kanishka Soni portrayed Sumitra in the 2015 series Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanumaan.
-
Sampada Vaze portrayed Sumitra in the 2015 series Siya Ke Ram.
-
Preeti Gandwani portrayed Sumitra in the 2018 series Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush.
-
Bhawna Aneja portrayed Sumitra in the 2024 series Shrimad Ramayan.
-
Gurpreet Kaur Sandhu portrayed Sumitra in 2024 DD National series Kakabhushundi Ramayan- Anasuni Kathayein.
YouTube
-
Priyankshi Keswani portrayed Sumitra in 2024 YouTube series Valmiki Ramayan.
See also
External links
