Shatrughma is also called Shatrughna. Shatrughma means ‘Killer of Enemies’ in Sanskrit. Shatrughna is believed to be the one half component of manifest Vishnu (Rama). The 412th name of Vishnu –‘Shatrughma’ also appears in Vishnu Sahasranama of the Mahabharata. As per the Ramayana, Vishnu’s seventh avatar is Rama, while Shatrughma, Bharata and Lakshmana are considered to be the past-incarnations of Sudarshana-chakra, Shankha and Sheshanaga respectively.
King Dashratha, the virtuous king of Ayodhya had four sons. King Dashratha’s third wife, the princess of Kashi, Queen Sumitra, gave birth to Shatrughma and Lakshmana. Kaikeyi and Kaushalya were the other two wives of King Dashratha. While Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharata, Kaushalya gave birth to Rama. Shatrughma got married to the Kushadhwaja’s daughter, Shrutakirti and together they had two sons, Subahu and Shatrughati.
According to Ramayana, the Hindu epic, Shatrughma is Lord Rama’s youngest brother. He is Lakshmana’s twin brother. Manthara, the old nurse of Kaikeyi had poisoned the queen’s mind against Rama, after which Rama was exiled. Angered by this, Shatrughna made an attempt to kill Manthara but Bharata intervenes as such an act would not be approved by Rama.
Shatrughma looked after the royal duties and administration of Ayodhya during Rama’s absence. When Rama went for exile, Shatrughma took on the responsibility, though Bharata was assigned this task as king. He provided solace to the 3 Queen Mothers while Rama was in exile. Shatrughma played an important role in the epic, Ramayana. While serving Rama, he killed Ravana’s nephew, Lavanasura, demon king of Mathura. Rama crowned Shratughma, as king of Mathura after the death of Lavanasura.
