Birth of Rama

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This image shows the birth of Rama in the royal palace at Ayodhya. His mother was Queen Kausalya, the first wife of the King Dasaratha who ruled the land of Koshala in northern India. As soon as Rama was born, he had the physical characteristics suggesting that he was special such as reddish eyes and long arms. This was because Rama was in fact one half of the God Vishnu. The gods had willed Rama's creation, so that when he was grown up, he could rid the world the demon King Ravana. This detail is taken from a illustration in the Bala Kanda (first book of the Ramayana) from a manuscript produced in Udaipur, India in 1712.