Editing Lakshmana (section)

=== Birth and early life ===
[[File: Four Sons of Dasaratha.jpg|thumb|250px|Birth of the four sons of Dasharatha]]

King [[Dasharatha]] of [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhya]] had three wives: [[Kausalya]], [[Sumitra]] and [[Kaikeyi]]. He performed a [[yajna]]-[[Ashvamedha|Ashwamedha yajna]] to beget sons and as a result, his queens became pregnant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rys/rys1015.htm|title=The Ramayana in Sanskrit: Book 1: Chapter 15}}</ref> Lakshmana and his brother [[Shatrughna]] were born to Sumitra, while [[Rama]] and [[Bharata (Ramayana)|Bharata]] were born to Kausalya and Kaikeyi respectively.<ref name="Mani">{{cite book|author = Mani, Vettam|title = Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature|url = https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft|publisher = Motilal Banarsidass|year = 1975|location = Delhi|isbn = 978-0-8426-0822-0|author-link =Vettam Mani|pages=[https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft/page/448 448]-9}}</ref>

In the [[Puranas]], Lakshmana is described as an incarnation of [[Shesha]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Śrīgargasaṃhitā: Kīrtibhāṣāsārasahitā |date=2000 |publisher=Vyāsa Bālābakṣa Śodhasaṃsthāna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3PXAAAAMAAJ&q=%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%80 |language=sa}}</ref> the multiple-headed [[nāga|naga]] (serpent) upon whom rests the preserver deity [[Vishnu]], whose [[avatar]] Rama is considered to be.<ref>{{Cite book |last=aravamudan |first=krishnan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CJe9BAAAQBAJ&dq=lakshmana+adishesha&pg=PA294 |title=Pure Gems of Ramayanam |date=2014-09-22 |publisher=PartridgeIndia |isbn=978-1-4828-3720-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Haq |first=Kaiser |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jCmoCgAAQBAJ&dq=shesha+snake&pg=PT28 |title=The Triumph of the Snake Goddess |date=2015-10-12 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-91511-4 |language=en |access-date=29 July 2022 |archive-date=15 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615185004/https://books.google.com/books?id=jCmoCgAAQBAJ&dq=shesha+snake&pg=PT28 |url-status=live }}</ref> When sage [[Vishwamitra|Vishvamitra]] asked Rama to kill the demons in the forest, Lakshmana accompanied them and went to [[Mithila (ancient)|Mithila]] with them. Vishvamitra gives them the knowledge of the ''Devastras'' or celestial weaponry [bala and ati bala], trains them in advanced religion and guides them to kill powerful demons like [[Tataka]], [[Maricha]] and [[Subahu]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rama and Lakshmana Slay the mighty tataka|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/spirituality/2018/apr/28/rama-and-lakshmana-slay-the-mighty-tataka-1806617.html|access-date=2020-09-05|website=The New Indian Express|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805023717/https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/spirituality/2018/apr/28/rama-and-lakshmana-slay-the-mighty-tataka-1806617.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>