Every local version of Ramayana has tried to include additional details to Valmiki’s Ramayana, that they thought were missing or lacking in the text. Thus every local version enriches the original text with layers of counter narratives adding to the tradition of Ramayana in India.

Bundeli Ramayana from Bundelkhand an area sandwiched between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh is no exception. Sung in the oral form, the following incidents are added in Bundeli Ramayana to throw light on some of the unanswered questions in Valmiki’s Ramayana text such as who was Rama’s sister?

Not much is known about Rama’s sister Shanta. The only time she is mentioned in Valmiki’s Ramayana is when Dasharath invites sage Rishyasringa to officiate the sacrifice of Putrakameshthi, to get son/s and an heir to his kingdom. After the completion of the  sacrifice Dasharath offers his daughter Shanta in marriage to Rishyasringa in lieu of his officiating fee. Valmiki does not tell us anything about Shanta’s birth. The question becomes interesting as all the queens of Dasharath were childless. Who then was the mother of Shanta ? Bundeli Ramayana tries to address this lacuna through the following tale.

Once King Dasharath and his friend King Janak was on a hunting trip. As they tracked their prey, King Dasharath inadvertently entered a forest patch where men were barred from entering. The belief was the forest resonated with feminine power and was strictly reserved for women, and if any male would enter the forest, he would turn into a female. Dasharath, having entered the forest by chance turned into a woman. For years he wandered around in female form. Then one day he met a man, had a relationship with him and conceived a child. This female child was named Shanta. After the birth of Shanta, Dasharatha regained his maleness and returned to his palace with the child. Thus Shanta became Dasharath’s first child, but he was her mother.