Urmila

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Urmila (disambiguation).

Urmila (Sanskrit: ऊर्मिला, IAST: Ūrmilā)) is a character in the Hindu religious text of Ramayana. She was younger sister of Sita and the wife of Lakshmana, younger brother of Rama.

Urmila
Ramayana - Marriage of Rama Bharata Lakshmana and Shatrughna.jpg
Marriage of Urmila and her 3 sisters
TextsRamayana and its other versions
Personal information
Born
Mithila
Parents
  • Janaka (father)
  • Sunayana (mother)
SiblingsSita (adoptive sister)
Mandavi and Shrutakirti (cousins)
SpouseLakshmana
ChildrenAngada
Chandraketu[1]
DynastyVideha (by birth)
Raghuvanshi-Ikshvaku-Suryavanshi (by marriage)

Life[]

She is the daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and Queen Sunayana / Sunaina and younger sister of Sita. She was married to Ayodhya's king Dasharatha's 3rd son Lakshmana. They had two sons - Angada and Chandraketu. She was as dedicated to Sita as Lakshmana was to Rama.[2] She is the reincarnation of Goddess Nagalakshmi. According to some folklore, it is said that she had a daughter called Somada.

When Lakshmana went to exile along with Ram and Sita, Urmila was ready to accompany him but he hesitated and asked her to stay back in Ayodhya to take care of his aging parents. According to a legend, Urmila sleeps continuously for 14 years. It is believed that during the 14 years of exile, Lakshmana never slept to protect his brother and sister-in-law.[3] On the first night of exile, when Ram and Sita were sleeping, Nidra Devi appeared to Lakshmana and he asked her to give blessing so that he would never feel sleepy. Devi Nidra asked him if anyone else can sleep instead of him? Lakshmana advised that his wife Urmila can sleep. After hearing this, Devi Nidra asked Urmila about this and Urmila happily accepted it. Urmila is notable for this unparalleled sacrifice which is called Urmila Nidra.[4][5]

According to a legend, it is said that when Lakshmana came to inform her of his decision, she was dressed as a queen and Lakshmana got angry on her and compared her with Kaikeyi. This was done by her to distract her husband's attention from her so he can take care of her sister and brother-in-law. When Sita came to know about it, she said that 100's of Sita can't match Urmila's sacrifice.

It is said that Urmila, along with Mandavi and Shrutakirti died between the demise of Sita and their mother-in-law's death.

Worship[]

In Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, there is a temple dedicated to Lakshman and Urmila. The temple was built in 1870 AD by the then ruler Balwant Singh of Bharatpur and is considered as a royal temple by the royal family of Bharatpur State.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Ramayana – Conclusion, translated by Romesh C. Dutt (1899)
  2. ^ source needed
  3. ^ source needed
  4. ^ Reeja Radhakrishnan (28 March 2014). "Urmila, The Sleeping Princess". Indian Express. Chennai. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Ramayana: Check 13 lesser-known facts". Jagranjosh.com. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Temple Profile: Mandir Shri Laxman Ji". Government of Rajasthan. Retrieved 1 June 2016.

Further reading[]

Retrieved from ""