Kaikeyi was the second queen of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya
and she was responsible for sending Sri Ram to 14 year exile in the forest.
Queen Kaikeyi did not grow up with her mother. The story of Kaikeyi’s mother is
narrated by Sumitra, the third wife of Dasharatha, to Urmila (wife of Lakshman)
and Shrutakirti (wife of Shatrughna).
Kaikeyi was the daughter of King Ashwapati, who was the
ruler of Kekaya.
King Aswapati had the power to understand the language of
birds. But he would die the moment if he shared what he heard from the birds.
One day the king was sitting with Kaikeyi’s mother on the
banks of a lake. The king then listened to the conversation of two swans and
started laughing.
The queen wanted to know what the king had overheard. The
king told the queen that he could not share it as it would lead to his death.
But the queen persisted. She told that if the king loved her
then he should disclose what he heard.
The king felt the queen did not value his life. He no longer
wanted her in the palace. So the king sent her back to her parent’s house.
Queen Kaikeyi was now motherless and she was handed over to
Manthara, who brought her up.
Related