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''Kaikeyi''(Sanskrit: कैकेयी, ''Kaikeyī'', Indonesian: ''Kekayi'', Burmese: ''Kaike'', Malay: ''Kekayi'', Thai: ''Kaiyakesi'', Khmer: ''កៃកេសី''), in the Indian epic Ramayana, was one of King Dasharatha's three queen-wives and a Queen of Ayodhyā. But it can not be surely said if she was last or the second queen. In Ayodhya kand Rama says that Kaikeyi is their younger mother(chapter 52, verse 61). But in Aranya kand Rama says that न ते अम्बा मध्यमा तात गर्हितव्या कथंचन। ताम् एव इक्ष्वाकु नाथस्य भरतस्य कथाम् कुरु(chapter 16, verse 37) Which means " In any way, dear Lakshmana, you are not supposed to deplore another mother of ours, but you go on telling the topics of Bharata, the king of Ikshvakus." The word अम्बा मध्यमा means second mother or middle mother. She was the mother of Bharata. The term ''Kaikeyī'' in Sanskrit means "belonging to Kekeya Kingdom", referring the ruling family of the Kekaya clan, to whom Kaikeyī belonged. Kaikeyi was the daughter of king Ashwapati which means lord of horses, that means lord of the place of Horses which is nowadays called Ukraine, and his daughter was named after the Kacus(Cacus) mountain ranges in Serbian region. ==Early life== The daughter of the mighty Ashwapati, a long-term ally of Kosala, Kaikeyi married Dasharatha after the latter had promised her father that the son born of her womb would succeed him as King of Kosala. Dasharatha was able to make this promise as his first wife, Kausalya, the princess of Magadha, was childless and not likely to produce a son of her own. Sumitra, the princess of Kashi, also remained barren for many years of marriage, as a result of which Dasharatha married Kaikeyi who was childless too. As a young girl and the only sister to seven brothers, Kaikeyi grew up without a maternal influence in her childhood home. Her father had banished her mother from Kekaya after realizing that his wife's nature was not conducive to a happy family life. Amongst other things, due to a boon, Ashwapati was able to understand the language of the birds. However, this was accompanied by a caveat that if he ever revealed the content of bird speak to anyone, even his own mother, that he would forthwith lose his life. One day, the King and his Queen were strolling through the palace gardens when Ashwapati happened to overhear the conversation of a pair of mated swans. The conversation so amused him that he laughed heartily, instigating his wife's curiosity. Despite being aware of the fact that he could not divulge the content of the conversation to her, without losing his life, Kaikeyi's mother insisted on knowing the cause of the King's mirth. When Ashwapati realized that his wife cared little for his life or well-being, he had her banished to her parents' home. Kaikeyi never saw her mother again. She was raised by her wet nurse, Manthara, who accompanied Kaikeyi to Ayodhya as a trusted maid upon her marriage to Dasharatha. The older woman schemed constantly to further her own position at the Court. And since her position depended on Kaikeyi's status at Court, Manthara lost no opportunity to feed the young Kaikeyi's insecurity and jealousy of Kausalya, despite Dasharatha's obvious enchantment and love for all of his wives. Manthara's scheming paid off when Kaikeyi was able to convince her husband to take her along with him during a military campaign against Sambarasura, an enemy of both Indra and Dasharatha. During a fierce battle between the two, the wheel of Dasharatha's chariot broke and Sambarasura's arrow pierced the King's armor and lodged in his chest. Kaikeyi, who was acting as Dasharatha's charioteer, quickly repaired the broken wheel and then drove the chariot away from the battle field. She nursed the wounded King back to health. Touched by her courage and timely service, Dasharatha offered her two boons. However, Kaikeyī chose to ask those boons later. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kaikeyi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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