Ram. Dashrath, king of Ayodhya, had three wives but no children. So he conducted a yagna and invoked the gods who gave him a magic potion that was divided among his three queens. In time the queens gave birth to four sons. Ram was the eldest, born of the chief queen, Kaushalya, Bharat was the second born to Dasharath’s favourite queen Kaikeyi. Lakshman and Shatrughna were the twin sons of the third queen Sumitra." - Meaning and context.">
In: p. 3
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The Ramayan, one of the most revered texts in Hinduism, tells the story of a prince called Ram. Dashrath, king of Ayodhya, had three wives but no children. So he conducted a yagna and invoked the gods who gave him a magic potion that was divided among his three queens. In time the queens gave birth to four sons. Ram was the eldest, born of the chief queen, Kaushalya, Bharat was the second born to Dasharath’s favourite queen Kaikeyi. Lakshman and Shatrughna were the twin sons of the third queen Sumitra.

— Devdutt Pattanaik

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The Ramayan, one of the most revered texts in Hinduism, tells the story of a prince called Ram. Dashrath, king of Ayodhya, had three wives but no children. So he conducted a yagna and invoked the gods who gave him a magic potion that was divided among his three queens. In time the queens gave birth to four sons. Ram was the eldest, born of the chief queen, Kaushalya, Bharat was the second born to Dasharath’s favourite queen Kaikeyi. Lakshman and Shatrughna were the twin sons of the third queen Sumitra." in the context of "In: p. 3" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Devdutt Pattanaik" (Quotes, The Book of Ram: Devdutt Pattanaik The Book of Ram, Penguin UK, 21 October 2008) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Devdutt Pattanaik

About Devdutt Pattanaik

Devdutt Pattanaik (Odia: ଦେବଦତ୍ତ ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକ Devanagari: देवदत्त पट्टनायक), born 11 December 1970, is an Indian author known for his work in mythology and interpretations of ancient Indian scriptures, stories, symbols and rituals.