Dasarata - (Wayang Kulit)

Dasarata - the blind son of Prabu Citrasena

Title	Dasarata - (Prabu) - Mahabharata
Other names	Destara, Dritarastra, Dretanagara
Size	49 cm
Personal data	Dasarata is the son of Prabu Citrasena and Dewi Ambika (fathered by Abiasa). He is king of Astina but has the country ruled by his half-brother Pandu. Dasarata marries Dewi Gandari, Sangkuni's sister. Dasarata and Gandari are the parents of the Kaurawas. They have a hundred sons and one daughter. Dasarata also has a son by a slave: Yuyutsu.
Appearance	...
Collection	Private collection

Dasarata - (Prabu) - Mahabharata

Dasarata is the son of Citrasena and Dewi Ambika (fathered by Abiasa). He is born blind because Ambika keeps her eyes tightly closed when Abiasa comes to her. He is king of Astina but has the country ruled by his half-brother Pandu.

Dasarata marries Dewi Gandari, Sangkuni's sister. Dasarata and Gandari are the parents of the Kaurawas. They have a hundred sons and one daughter.

King Dasaratha
Prabu Dasaratha is the king of Ayodhya. He inherited the royal throne from his father-in-law, Prabu Banaputra who was killed by Prabu Dasamuka from Alengka. His meeting with Dewi Sukasalya or Kosalya happened in Dandaka forest, when the princess Ayodya was running away from Dasamuka's pursuit.

At that time, Dasarata was still a young hermit and wandering in the forest. He accidentally met Dewi Sukasalya who at that time was running away from being chased by Prabu Dasamuka. Dasarata then created a fake Sukasalya which was made from the goddess's hairpin. Prabu Dasamuka was successfully tricked and Dewi Sukasalnya was saved.

Dasarata then married Dewi Sukasalya. However, several years into their marriage, they had not yet had a baby. Therefore, Dewi Sukasalya asked Prabu Dasarata to remarry. Dasarata complied with his wife's request by marrying Dewi Sumitrawati and Dewi Kekayi.
However, even though they had three wives, the son they longed for was never present in their midst. Because of this, King Dasarata asked Begawan Wasista for advice. The Begawan recommended that King Dasarata hold an Aswameda offering ceremony, namely an offering made from a horse sacrifice.
After Dasaratha implemented the advice, his three wives became pregnant. Goddess Sukasalya (Raghu) then gave birth to Ramawijaya, Goddess Kekayi gave birth to Barata, Satrugna and Goddess Kanwaka while Goddess Sumitrawati gave birth to Laksmana.
However, in another version it is said that in order to obtain offspring, Prabu Dasarata held a yadnya led by Resi Srengga. From this ceremony, Dasarata received payasam which contained holy water for his queens to drink. Kosalya and Kekayi took a sip, while Sumitra drank twice until it was finished.

A few months later Kosalya gave birth to their first son, and was named Rama, the second was Kekayi who gave birth to Bharata, then Sumitra gave birth to twin sons and was named Laksmana and Satrugna.
Because Dewi Raghu is the oldest wife, Ramawijaya is considered the eldest son and nominated as the crown prince. When he felt that he was getting older, Prabu Dasarata intended to abdicate and hand over the throne of Ayodya to Ramawijaya. Moreover, Rama is an adult and has a wife named Dewi Sinta. However, this intention was not carried out because of Dewi Kekayi's actions.
Dewi Kekayi demanded a promise from Prabu Dasaratha when he proposed to her, that he would comply with all of Dewi Kekayi's requests. And now, his request is for Dasaratha to cancel Ramawijaya's coronation plan and appoint Barata, his son as the heir to the throne. With a heavy heart, Dasaratha had to approve his wife's request. But Dewi Kekayi was still not satisfied, she also wanted Ramawijaya to be expelled from the kingdom and have to live in the Dandaka forest for 13 years. With a broken heart, Dasaratha had to obey his third wife. After Rama left the kingdom, Prabu Dasaratha felt very guilty and regretful. He didn't want to eat, didn't want to sleep until he got sick and eventually died.

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Source: History of Wayang Purwa - Hardjowirogo - PN Balai Pustaka - 1982