About
Chandraketu — Son of Lakshmana and Urmila, Prince of Ayodhya
Chandraketu · Lakshmana-putra · Chandrakanta-pati
Chandraketu is a prince of Ayodhya, named in the Uttara Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana as the son of Lakshmana — the third son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya and devoted companion of Rama — and of Urmila, the daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. He is one of two sons of Lakshmana and Urmila named in that text, the other being Angada. At the close of the events narrated in the Uttara Kanda, Rama installs Chandraketu as king of a territory in the Malada and Karusha regions. The textual base for Chandraketu is limited to this notice; the Valmiki Ramayana does not develop his character or narrate any episode centred on him.
✦ The Name
The name Chandraketu is a Sanskrit compound of chandra, meaning moon, and ketu, meaning banner, sign, or chief. The name may be rendered as one whose banner is the moon or one who shines as a standard or emblem of the moon — a name carrying connotations of luminosity, royal dignity, and auspiciousness. Ketu as a component of royal names is common in the Solar and Lunar dynasty nomenclature of the Puranas and Itihasas.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Lakshmana, third son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya by his queen Sumitra, devoted companion of Rama throughout the forest exile, regarded in the devotional tradition as an avatara of Shesha the cosmic serpent.
- Mother: Urmila, second daughter of King Janaka of Mithila, wed to Lakshmana at the great marriage ceremony at Mithila in which Sita was wed to Rama.
- Paternal uncle: Rama, eldest son of Dasharatha, the hero of the Ramayana and seventh avatara of Vishnu, who installs Chandraketu as king of his territory.
- Brother: Angada, also a son of Lakshmana and Urmila, installed by Rama as king of Angadiya at the same time.
- Paternal grandmother: Sumitra, one of the three queens of Dasharatha and mother of both Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
- Maternal grandfather: Janaka, philosopher-king of Mithila in the Videha kingdom.
✦ Installation as King
The Uttara Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana records that Rama installs Chandraketu as king of a territory associated with the Malada and Karusha regions. These regions are mentioned elsewhere in the Ramayana in connection with episodes involving Rama himself — the Malada and Karusha lands appear in accounts of the sage Tataka and the clearing of that region. The naming of this territory as Chandraketu's kingdom thus places his domain within a geographically identified, if not precisely located, part of the epic's world. No further narrative detail about his reign or subsequent life is provided in the primary text.
✦ References
Primary Sources
- Valmiki Ramayana, Uttara Kanda: The sole primary source naming Chandraketu as the son of Lakshmana and Urmila and recording his installation as king of the Malada and Karusha territory; no further narrative is provided.
Modern Reference Works
- Vettam Mani, Puranic Encyclopaedia (Motilal Banarsidass, 1975), entry on Chandraketu: Notes this figure as the son of Lakshmana and records his installation in the Malada-Karusha region as given in the Uttara Kanda.