EDUCATION OF THE PRINCES

When the princes became ten, king Dashratha decided to teach them the skills that a Kshatriya prince requires. King Dashratha was himself archer. He could shoot at a target even without seeing it, merely guided by the direction from which he heard or sensed a sound or movement. King Dashratha made arrangement for a learned and skilled instructor to train his four sons in archery. Time passed by. The young princes became great archers.
After a year, it was the time for the princes to gain the formal education as was the custom in those times. So the four princes were made to discard their royal robes and dressed up simple attire. Then they were sent to Sage Vashishtha’s hermitage to gain knowledge of the Vedas, which was necessary to be a good administrator. Before leaving for their guru’s hermitage, the four princes went through the sacred thread ceremony.
At Sage Vashishtha’s hermitage, the four princes proved to be obedient and intelligent pupils. Soon they had learnt a lot about being a good human being true Kshatriya and an able ruler. Soon the education of the four princes was completed. Sage Vashishtha sent a message to king Dashratha to let the princes return to the royal life once again. King Dashratha sent his trusted minister, Sumantra to fetch the princes. When Sumanantra alighted from the chariot at Sage Vashishtha’s hermitage, he first touched the learned sage’s feet and sought his blessings. Sage Vashishtha enquired about King Dashratha and residents of the royal palace. After spending some time there, Sumantra took the sage’s leave. The princes gave up their simple garments and dressed in royal robes. Rama, Lakshmana, bharata and Shartrughna then went and touched Sage Vashishtha’s feet and sought his blessings. They respected their guru and had come to love him too, for he had cared for them as a father does. Their sense of love and attachment overwhelmed their hearts. But the princes remembered their guru’s teaching and conquered those feelings and set off on their journey back to Ayodhya.