In the popular understanding of Ramayana, Sita gave birth to twins Luv and Kush who challenged their father and defeated him in battle and restored the dignity of Sita. However, in the many retellings of Ramayana found across the world, we learn Sita delivered only one child called Luv. She raised this child in the ashram of Valmiki. One day, when she went to gather fruits and berries from the forest, she left the child in the care of Valmiki. But when she returned, she found not one but two children. Valmiki explained that while she was away, Luv had wandered off, and he could not find the child. In panic, he used his magical powers to create a new child. He gathered Kusha grass, fashioned out of it, a doll, breathed life into it and created a second child, which was the very likeness of the first child. This is how the second twin was born.

This story is found across India in many folk retellings and makes one wonder why is it that storytellers felt the need to show that Sita’s twins were not born naturally but as a result of magic? Is it that twin children were considered auspicious and therefore, you need an alternative explanation for the existence of two sons? Of course, we can only speculate on this.