Satrughna
By Swami Harshananda
Satrughna literally means ‘one who kills or destroys the enemy’.
Satrughna was a son of Sumitrā, the second queen of Daśaratha. He and Lakṣmana were twins. He was very much attached to Bharata just as Lakṣmaṇa was to Rāma. Very little is mentioned about him in the first six books of Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa. He was married to Srutakīrti, daughter of Kuśadhvaja, younger brother of Janaka. He was sent to Mathurā by Rāma to kill the demon-king Lavaṇāsura who had become a despot and terror to his subjects. He not only killed Lavaṇāsura but also took over the kingdom as it's ruler and ruled it according to the highest principles of dharma.
Since he had not seen Rāma for a long time he visited the hermitage of Vālmīki and then came to Ayodhyā after dividing his kingdom between his two sons Subāhu and Satrughāti who ruled from Mathurā and Vaidiśa respectively. Rāma was extremely happy to meet him. When Rāma decided to go back to his divine abode, Satrughna also followed him.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore