Extract taken from: (Ramayana: A Divine Drama, Actors in the Divine Play as scripted by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Vol.4)
His Birth:
Queen (Indumati) gave birth to a son. The parents (Aja and Indumati) were overjoyed at this happy event. They had the news communicated to their revered preceptor, Vashistha. They wanted ceremonial rites to be done for the new-born baby. He was named Dasharatha. Dasharatha was, indeed, the pet of everyone who saw him and who had the privilege of fondling him. The child waved and tossed its limbs about as if he was all vitality and joy. It appeared as if it was fed on Ananda (bliss) and it lived only for imparting Ananda to all. (RKRV Part I, p. 23)
When Dasharatha was now a full-grown youth, Aja made over the kingdom (of Kosala) to him. Within a short time, the fame of Dasharatha illumined all quarters, like the rays of the rising sun. He had the intrepidity and skill of ten charioteers rolled into one and so, the name Dasharatha (The-ten-chariot-hero) was found appropriate. No one could stand up against the onrush of his mighty chariot! Every contemporary ruler, mortally afraid of his prowess, paid homage to his throne. The world extolled him as a hero without equal, a paragon of virtue, a statesman of highest stature. (RKRV Part I, pp. 25-26)
Dasharatha was an embodiment of peace, love and purity. He was a person of steady mind and unblemished character. Earned the title of ‘Satya Parakrama’ (a person of truthful valour) for himself. He had another title ‘Dharma vrata’ (one who has taken the vow of righteousness). He also had two more titles, ‘Atirathi’ (a warrior who can fight with several people at a time, seated on his chariot) and ‘Rajarshi’ (A saintly King). Thus he was a personification of all noble qualities. ((Beacons of Divine Wisdom, Part 1, p. 76)
Dasharatha, the Emperor, embodied in himself all noble ideals. The people too shared the noble virtues of Emperor Dasharatha. The Emperor was pure and egoless, and verily the embodiment of peace and love. He regarded the subjects of his kingdom as his own children and lavished great love and affection on them. Dasharatha ruled over his kingdom counselled by eight Ministers. These Ministers were of extraordinary mettle. They were masters of the Scriptures and masters of their senses as well. They held the Emperor’s command in high esteem and were prepared to lay down their lives in the task of carrying out his commands. These eight persons were such that they always practised the highest dharma. The last one of these eight persons was Sumantra. He has also accepted two persons Vashistha and Vamadeva as his Gurus. In Dasharatha’s daily life, he was using these two Gurus as his purohits. These priests led profoundly moral and spiritual lives, and were always absorbed in Divine contemplation. (SSB 1996, p. 12)
In addition, when Dasharatha had some doubt or when he found that the people’s prosperity was being obstructed or when he wanted some advice, he used to have six people as his principal advisers. The first among these six people was Suyagna; the others were Jabali, Kashyapa, Pascheya, Markandeya and Gautama. These six persons were retained by him as his principal advisers. He was ruling the whole of Bharatha. There was no injustice, there was no untruth, there was no crime in the whole of Bharatha during his rule. At that time he had eight ministers and six advisers. The rule of that day was such that Dasharatha looked into the prosperity of the people. Dasharatha had such noble qualities and ideals that he was carrying on the rule of his country in an exemplary manner. (SSB 1977, pp. 80-81)
Emperor Dasharatha ruled the entire country of Bharat as an absolute monarch, ruthlessly suppressing injustice, unrighteousness, untruth as bad practices. He did not give scope at all for these evil traits to raise their ugly head. He was always wedded to truth and righteousness and earned the love and affection of his subjects. Dasharatha was an embodiment of peace, love and purity. He was aperson of steady mind and unblemished character. Earned the tittle of ‘Satya parakrama’ (a person of truthful valour) for himself. He had another title ‘Dharma vrata’ ( one who has taken the vow of righteousness). He also had two more titles, ‘Atirathi’ (a warrior) who can fight with several people at a time, seated on his chariot) and ‘Rajarshi’ (a saintly King). Thus he was a personification of all noble qualities. (Beacons of Divine Wisdom, Part 1, p. 76) Dasharatha ruled the realm with love and care. (RKRV Part I, p. 32)
Meaning Of Dasharatha
Who was Dasharatha? He was not merely the Emperor of the Kosala Kingdom. Dasharatha signifies the chariot of the human body, which has five organs of action and five organs of perception (SSB 1996, p. 84)
‘Ayodhya‘ means ‘invincible’. Its ruler was Dasharatha. Dasharatha means one who has made his ten indriyas (sense organ) - the five organs of action and the five organs of perception – his chariot. (SSS Vol.20, p. 49)
Man has got five working organs and five sensory organs. Altogether he has got ten indriyas, and Dasharatha literally means the human body which has got five working organs and five sensory organs. Dasharatha symbolises this chariot of the human body which has got ten organs. Dasharatha also attracted three gunas in the form of Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. The four Purusharthas: dharma, artha, kama and moksha are symbolised by Dasharatha’s four sons. Dasharatha was one who proclaimed such a significant inner meaning to the world and urged the people to lead an ideal life. (SSB 1977, pp. 80-81)
Dasharatha means he who is master of his ten senses, the five Karmendriyas (senses of action) and the five Jnanendriyas (senses of perception): that is to say, the successful sadhaka. Such a person can have the progeny of the four Purusharthas; Dharma (Rama), Artha (Lakshmana), Kama (Bharatha) and Moksha (Shatrughna). (SSS Vol. 6, p. 137)
Dasharatha had no kind of attachment, and he had the ability to discriminate between the right and wrong. He was not an ignorant person. Dasharatha recognised that all attachments are only relationships between one body and another and such is a purely worldly attachment. (SSB 1977, pp. 88-89)
Treated his wives with equal consideration
The king treated each of his three wives with equal consideration; they too, evinced equal love and respect towards each other and the King. They adored him and were afraid to displease him. They endeavoured their best to carry out his wishes and not hinder his desire, for they revered him as their God, in the tradition of the true wife. They lived with such intimate mutual love that it appeared as if all three had one breath, though they moved about as three bodies! (RKRV Part I, p. 34)
Allegory of Dasharatha and his three wives:
Symbolically, of the three wives of Dasharatha, Kausalya represents Sattva, Sumitra represents Rajo guna and Kaikeyi represents Tamo guna. This means that the human body is wedded to the three gunas. (SSS Vol.23, p. 42)
(Dasharatha gives Payasa to his wives)
Dasharatha means one who has made his ten indriyas (sense organs) – the five organs of action and the five organs of perception—his chariot. Allegorically, this means that Dasharatha represents the body, with its ten organs. These sense organs are related to the three gunas (qualities) Sattva, Rajas, Tamas. Dasharatha’s three wives--- Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi---symbolise these three gunas. (SSS Vol.20, p. 49)
Dasharatha is one who recognised that happiness and bliss are natural qualities. It is because Dasharatha recognised that happiness is a natural quality of human beings, in his own home, the four Vedas in the form of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna were playing happily. They are the embodiments of the Vedas. Here Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna respectively represent the Yajur Veda, Rig Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. They were born as children of Dasharatha. (SSB 1977, pp. 85-86)
Dasharatha blessed Rama on his going into the exile
When Rama was proceeding to the forest, Dasharatha appeared to be in great sorrow and even fainted, unable to bear separation from his beloved son. That is how the story goes. Strictly speaking, he was well aware of the fact that pleasure and pain, sorrow and happiness are only at the realm of the physical body and his real nature transcends that state. However, since he was playing the role of a father, he acted as though he could not bear separation from his dear son. The sorrow and agony displayed by Dasharatha was at the physical level. In fact, Dasharatha, at that time blessed his son Shri Rama that he should spend His time happily during the period of exile, that the dharma followed by Rama would protect Him and that Rama should come back safely after completing his vanavasa (exile in the forest0. Dasharatha was not a weak soul to grieve over the separation of his son from him. He was great warrior with tremendous amount of mental and physical strength. Before departure of Rama to the forest Dasharatha blessed Him, ‘ May you not encounter any difficulties in the forest since you are going into the forest to help your father fulfil his promise. May you set an example to the world in adhering to Satya (Truth) and Dharma (righteousness). (Beacons of Divine Wisdom, Part 1, pp. 81-82)
True Devotee – Selfless Love and peace as his principles
Dasharatha was a true devotee. He was pure-hearted and selfless. He used constantly contemplate on God installing him on the altar of his heart. Truth and righteousness are his two eyes. Love and peace are his principles. Emperor Dasharatha had equal love for his three wives. Therefore, distributed the payasam in equal proportion to his three wives. He did not show any favouritism towards any of his wives, in this regard. (Beacons of Divine Wisdom, Part 1, p. 78)
Queen Sunayana (Consort of The Emperor Janaka) says, ‘Mothers! You are indeed highly fortunate, for Emperor Dasharatha has a renown for holy merit that few rulers have. You are Consorts of such noble person. (RKRV Part I, p. 343)
Ideal home:
The home of Dasharatha was an ideal one where all the mothers lived in great harmony. The queens of Dasharatha also lived in great unity and understanding. Nowadays it is difficult to lead one’s life with a single wife, what to speak of three wives? But the home of Dasharatha was an exception. Great harmony and understanding prevailed there. (SSB 2002, p. 45)
Story of Shravana Kumar
Sita, Rama and Lakshmana got into the chariot and proceeded to the forest. Dasharatha ran after the chariot saying, ‘Oh Rama, stay for a while. Let me see your beautiful form at least for some time. Any way I cannot stop you from going.’ The shock of separation from Rama was too severe for Dasharatha to bear. H did not eat anything and he refused to drink even a drop of water. All the time he was saying, ‘Rama ‘Rama ... ‘In this way remembering Rama every moment he left his mortal coil. All this happened because there was a reason behind this and it was like this:
(Dasharatha and Shravan)
Once Dasharatha went to the forest for hunting. he reached near the bank of a stream, he heard a noise and thought that some wild animal was drinking water. On hearing this sound, he shot an arrow at the source of the sound. That arrow hit Shravana Kumar which proved fatal. Shravana Kumar had come to the stream to take water and quench the thirst of his old mother and father who were blind and helpless. He was the only support of his parents and carried them with him in a kavadi (a bamboo stick with two baskets at each end) to all places of pilgrimage. When Dasharatha realised what he had done, he was grief-stricken that he had caused the death of the only son of his old parents.
(The blind hermit and his wife mourn their son, who was slain accidentally by Dasharatha)
Before dying, Shravana Kumar requested him carry the water to his old parents. When Dasharatha informed his old parents about the tragic death of their son, they were drowned in inconsolable grief and cursed him that he would also die a tragic death due separation from his son. That is what had happened Dasharatha. After all, a curse uttered by noble souls cannot be reversed. (SSS Vol. 41, pp. 61-62)
Dasharatha Breathes His Last:
The Emperor’s breath was suffocated, like a fish which struggles to wriggle out of the dense slush into which it has fallen. Seeing his plight, the queens burst into heartrending wails. Words cannot describe that moment of desperate distress. Seeing their sorrow, even sorrow could not restrain its own sorrow. The agony of the queens, the agony of the Emperor, the agony of the maids of the palace, spread confusion and consternation over the entire City. The residents of the Capital scattered in terror, just like birds of the forest, frightened at midnight by a sudden thunderbolt.
Like a lotus stalk which, plucked and thrown out of the water, fades fast, the Emperor was fast leaving the body. Words could not emerge from the throat, the tongue became dry. The senses turned dull and ineffective. Kausalya watched the Emperor and denoted that the Sun of the Solar Dynasty was setting. (RKRV Part I, p. 390)
Dasharatha was lost in the contemplation of the incidents of the past. ‘Rama! Rama! Rama!’ he cried thrice, and leaned back on Kausalya. Kausalya noticed the change that had come over him, and screamed. The attendants and maids gathered around. They found that the Emperor had drawn his last breath. The city was turned into a vale of tears, a seething pool of grief. Crowds surged into the palace. The streets became fast-moving torrents of weeping humanity. People cast curses on Kaikeyi, for they felt that the city had lost its Eyes as a result of her machinations. (RKRV Part I, pp. 394-395)
(Death of King Dasharatha)
Dasharatha was so enamoured of his young queen, Kaikeyi, that he promised to grant her two boons, whatever they may be, whenever she desired! This was foolish; who can say what she will ask for, and when? It placed the Emperor Dasharatha fully at the mercy of her whim. And what a monstrous whim she had! The very moment Rama was to be installed on the throne as Prince Regent, she put forth her two demands: ‘Rama must be banished into the forest for as long as fourteen years! Her son, Bharata, should be crowned Prince Regent, instead.’ He had to agree. The pang of separation from his dearly beloved son killed him when Rama left.
Pre-occupation with happiness derived from external objects and from others---this caused Dasharatha‘s death. All men are Dasharathas. They are enamoured of happiness derived from outside themselves, they are immersed in sensual, objective pursuits, and they reap the reward of grief and death. (SSS Vol.8, p. 128)