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In the Padma Purana, King Dasharatha ruled righteously in Varanasi. His eldest queen had three children: two sons [Rampandit and Lakshman] and a daughter [Sita Devi]. After the queen's death, the king appointed another woman as his chief queen. She gave birth to a son [Bharat Kumar]. On this occasion, the king granted her a boon. When Bharat was seven years old, the queen requested the kingdom for her son. The king flatly refused. But when the queen continued to plead for it day after day, the king, fearing her schemes, called his two sons and said, "Staying here might bring you harm, so go to another kingdom or forest and live there. After my death, return and claim the kingdom." At that time, the king summoned astrologers and asked them about his death. Upon receiving the answer of twelve years, he said, "My sons, return after twelve years and claim the throne." After paying their respects to their father, the two brothers were about to leave when Sita Devi also bid farewell to her father and joined them. Many others accompanied them. They returned and reached the Himalayas, where they built an ashram and resided. After nine years, Dasharatha died due to grief over his sons. The queen failed to make Bharat king as the ministers and Bharat himself opposed it. Then, Bharat, with his four-armed army, went to the forest to bring Ram. At that time, Ram was alone. Bharat told him the whole story of his father's death and began to weep, but Rampandit neither grieved nor cried.
In the evening, Lakshman and Sita returned. Hearing of their father's death, both were deeply saddened. To console them, Rampandit preached the Dharma of impermanence. Hearing this, everyone was relieved of their sorrow. Later, despite Bharat's repeated requests, Rampandit decided to stay in the forest, saying, "My father ordered me to rule after twelve years, so I cannot return and fulfill his command now. I will return after three years."
When Bharat also refused to accept the throne, Rampandit gave him his Tridanda-Tridanda and said, "These will rule until my return." Taking the Tridanda, Bharat returned to Varanasi with Lakshman, Sita, and others. The ministers performed their duties in the presence of these Tridanda. Whenever injustice occurred, the Tridanda would strike each other, and when a just decision was made, they would become silent.
After three years, Rampandit returned and married his sister Sita. After ruling for sixteen thousand years, he ascended to heaven. At the end of the Jataka, the Buddha explains the connection of the Jataka as follows: At that time, King Shuddhodana was King Dasharatha. Mahamaya [Buddha's mother] was Ram's mother, Yashodhara [Rahul's mother] was Sita, Anand was Bharat, and I was Rampandit.
Similarly, in the "Anamakam Jataka," the story is told without mentioning any specific character, but it is related to Ram's life. The special feature of this Jataka is that Ram is not exiled by his father due to his stepmother. He leaves the kingdom himself after hearing about his maternal uncle's preparations for an attack.
Similarly, within the Chinese Tripitaka, there is a collection of 121 Avadanas called "Tsa-Pau-Tsang-King." This collection was translated into Chinese in 472 AD. It also contains a "Dasharathakatha." It also mentions the Ramayana, with the special feature that it does not mention Sita or any other princess.
Three...
1. In the third century AD, "Anamakam Jataka" was translated into Chinese by Kang-Seng-Hui. Although the original Indian text is unavailable, the Chinese translation is preserved in the book "Lielu-Si King." [See the Taisho edition of the Chinese Tripitaka No. 152]