Saturday, January 2, 2010

How Kush came to be

When Ram, listening to Gossip, banished the pregnant Sita out of Ayodhya, she went to live in the Ashram of Sage Valmiki, where she gave birth to a pretty boy and named him "Luva". It was her routine to leave the little toddler with the great sage everyday when she went down to the river to collect flowers and bring water for the Ashram.

As was her practise, one day she left the child with the Sage and asked him to take care of the baby. But the Sage was so immersed in his prayers that he did not seem to be listening. Not wanting to disturb him, Sita took the child along with her.

Completing his prayers, when the sage turned around, he could not find the baby. When a frantic search still did not yield the child, Valmiki took the grass (Kush) growing around his ashram and made a replicate of Luva and gave it life.

Think of Sita and Valmiki's mutual shock when Sita came back with her baby safe and a twin of her Luva playing in the Ashram too. The sheepish Valmiki then told her what he had done and gave the new baby to Sita and asked her to keep him too as her son and named him Kush, after the grass from which he was made.
And this is how Sita got to have two children

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