Kusha

Kusha and his younger twin brother Lava were the children of Rama and Sita. Their story is recounted in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Hindu traditions claim he ruled the entire region of Kashmir, Indus River and Hindu Kush as frontier lands of India known as Hindu Kush Kshetra and founded the city of Kashmir in the valley and Kasur with Lavapuri of Lava in base lands, though local lore contends Kasur was founded in 1525 by Pashtun migrants. His brother Lava is traditionally believed to have founded Lavapuri (current day city of Lahore). The imperial line that ruled Kingdom of Benares-Kashi and the Maurya Empire, which ruled South Asia from 320 to 185 BCE, claimed descent from Kusha. Kusha is said to be a Raghuvamshi Ikshvaku Suryavamshi. Birth and childhood According to the Ramayana, a pregnant queen Sita leaves the kingdom of Ayodhya in revolt when the King, Lord Rama, asks her to prove her chastity to the citizens of the kingdom to refute the allegation against her by a citizen of his kingdom. She then took refuge in the ashram of the sage Valmiki located on the banks of the Tamsa River. Sita gave birth to twin sons, Kusha and Lava, at the ashram where they were educated and trained in military skills under the tutelage of Sage Valmiki. They also learned the story of Rama.