Sri Rama Pattabhishekam set at Khairatabad Ganapathi 2013
Shatrughna was a brother of Lord Rama, and he is also believed to be an aspect of the Sudarsana Chakra. He has contributed a lot in his life, and he obeyed the orders of his elder brothers and paid great respect to them. The meaning of the name Shatrughna denotes the killer of all of his enemies. The name Shatrughna is also mentioned as one of the names of Lord Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranama. Though Shatrughna was the dear brother of Lord Rama, yet, his character is almost forgotten by the present day people.
When Bharata ruled the Ayodhya Kingdom on the outskirts of the Kingdom by leading a saintly life, his dear brother Shatrughna also removed the royal clothes, wore the clothes of the saint, and he also lead a saintly life along with Bharata. As per the orders of Lord Rama, Shatrughna also killed the powerful demon Lavanarasura and he became the king of that kingdom. Apart from Ramayana, even in the medieval bhakti texts, the significance and the sacrifice done by the great Shatrughna were not mentioned by the authors in a detailed manner.
During the time of Bhagavat Gita Teachings, Lord Krishna tells, “Oh my dear Arjuna, for my enemies, I act like the noble Shatrughna”. The great Rama Devotee, Tulsidas has explained about the genuine features of Shatrughna, and he compared the Rama Bhakti of Shatrughna with the Rama Bhakti of Lord Hanuman.
After the completion of Rama Avatar, Lord Rama also took Shatrughna along with him to the Vaikunta.
Some of the temples dedicated to Shatrughna are as follows:-
Shatrughna Temple situated in Thrissur District of Kerala
Shatrughna Temple situated at Rishikesh
Shatrughna Temple located at Mathura, UP
At this present day world, while some of the own brothers are fighting within themselves for the sake of wealth, it was the great Shatrughna who showed more attention on his brothers, never showed enmity with them, and he has spent most of his life towards doing service to his brothers, didn’t think about the royal wealth, and he acts as an example for others.
“OM SRI SHATRUGHNAYA NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR