A long time ago there was a king named Rathadhwaja. In his family, worshiping Goddess Lakshmi was a tradition; however, the king stopped adoring the Goddess due to his ignorance and indifference. Consequently, he lost the grace of Lakshmi. The enemies invaded his kingdom and he lost everything.
Rathashwaja had two sons Kushadhwaja and Dharmadhwaja. They felt sorry for their father's mistake. They observed rigorous penance to please Goddess Lakshmi. When she appeared they prayed, "Bless us so that we get back our kingdom. Grant us a favor by being born as our daughter." Lakshmi granted the boons. They fought bravely, won back their kingdom and lived happily.
Malavati
was the name of Kushadhwaja's wife. Goddess Lakshmi, in fulfillment of the boon
granted by her, entered the womb of Malavati in subtle form and was born as her
daughter. It is said that even at the time of birth she was reciting Vedic
verses clearly. Vedavati was later born as a daughter to king Janaka. King
Janaka named her Sita. Lord Vishnu took birth as Sri Rama in the house of
Dashratha and Kaushalya. After some time, Sri Rama, as desired by his father,
had to go to Dandakaranya with Sita and Lakshmana. While living there, Ravana
deceitfully took Sita to Lanka. Sri Rama went to Lanka with Sugreeva, Hanumana
and other monkey warriors and invaded Lanka.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel