Sunayana (
Sanskrit: सुनयना,
IAST: Sunayanā) is the queen of
Videha in the Hindu epic Ramayana.[1] Sunayana is the queen consort of
Janaka, the king of Videha, who ruled from
Mithila. She is the mother of
Sita, the female protagonist of the epic and
Urmila.[2]
Etymology
The name Sunayana is of
Sanskrit origin, and could be divided into Su meaning good, and nayana, meaning eyes. Thus, her name means 'beautiful eyes'.[3]
Legend
Birth
While
Valmiki remains silent on her parentage and refers to her as Seeradhwaja Janaka, the later additions of Ramayana, refers to her as Sunayana and she is considered as the daughter of a serpent who was an ardent devotee of
Shiva.[4]
Marriage and children
Sunayana was married to King
Janaka, who ruled over the
Videha region from his capital
Mithila.[5] During her marriage to Janak, Shiva gifted these two jewels, one in the form of Chudamani and the other encrusted on a ring.[6]
According to Ramayana, Janaka and Sunayana found
Sita while ploughing as a part of a yagna and adopted her. Sita is considered as an avatar of goddess
Lakshmi.[7] She later gave birth to Urmila on Jaya ekadashi, who is an avatar of goddess
Nagalakshmi.[8][9]
When Sita reached adulthood, Janaka conducted her
svayamvara, which was won by
Rama. Alongside the wedding of Rama and Sita, Urmila married Rama's younger brother
Lakshmana.[10][11] According to the Bundeli Ramayana, it is Sunayana who gave the ring and chudamani to Sita.[4]
Queen of Mithila
Sunayana succeeded Janaka's mother Keikasi as the queen of Mithila. As the queen, she invested herself in the political and cultural aspects of Videha.[12][13]