One of King Sagar's
wives in Hindu legend.
Sumati and her co-wife Keshini are given a choice in the
number of children they will have: one will bear a single son through whom the
lineage will continue, while the other will bear sixty thousand boys who will
all die before they have any progeny, according to a sage's blessing.
Sumati selects the latter, and when her sixty thousand
lovely sons go out to find their father's sacrifice horse, they are consumed by
the sage Kapila's wrath.
Despite the fact that these boys die without trouble, they
have a significant impact on the planet because Keshini's descendants bring the
Ganges to earth to provide peace to their spirits.
Sumitra is one of King Dasharatha's three wives and the
mother of Rama's half-brothers, the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna, in the
Ramayana, the earlier of the two major Indian epics.
Her sons are essential characters in the epic because of
their dedication and service to Rama, while Sumitra is only relevant because
she bears them.
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