Why We Light Lamps - The Forgotten Tale of Narakasura

Every great hero’s journey rests on a thousand silent acts of service. We celebrate the triumphant names - Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, Hanuman, but what of the legions of invisible hearts that held it all together? In the epic of Ramayana, aside from the principal trio, there were warriors like Bharata, the river-boatman Kevat, the sage Shabari, the forest-guide Shabari and many more whose names rarely ring out.

But today we turn to one of the most powerful of the quiet contributors: Urmila.

In the palace gardens of Mithila grew two sisters - Sita, serene as the river, and Urmila, quiet as the moon. When destiny called, Sita walked with Rama into history; Urmila walked into a different kind of legend - the one that hums under the stage, unseen by the audience.

Sita was won by Rama, and Lakshmana was married to Urmila. Shortly thereafter, the great decree came: Rama would leave Ayodhya into exile for fourteen years. Lakshmana insisted on accompanying him for service to his brother, for loyalty to the path of dharma. Urmila asked to go with him, but he gently refused: “I must go where I can serve unbroken. If you come with me, I cannot guard my duty and guard you as husband and protector.” Accepting his words, Urmila stayed behind.

As Rama and Sita and Lakshmana entered the forest, the goddess of Sleep (Nidra) appeared to Lakshmana. He asked her: “Let me not sleep for these fourteen years, so that I may guard my brother and sister-in-law unceasingly.”

The goddess agreed but only if someone would take on his share of sleep. Lakshmana asked about his wife. Nidra came to Urmila with the proposal. Without hesitation she replied: “Take my fourteen years of sleep; let him remain vigilant.” So began Urmila’s vigil in reverse: while Lakshmana stayed awake for fourteen years, Urmila lay in deep rest - a sleep born not of escape but of immense sacrifice.

In staying behind, in giving away her nights so another could stay awake, Urmila anchored the journey. When the battles were fought, the demons slain, the coronation proclaimed, the hero returned, part of the victory ring belonged to the silent sentinel. Some traditions say the boon she granted him made possible the slaying of the mighty Meghnad (Indrajit), for only one who had not slept for fourteen years could defeat him.

At the moment of reunion, Lakshmana turned to Urmila, the one who had sacrificed so much, and praised her more than any other. For when the spotlight came, it was built on her foundation.

Reflective Takeaway

In business, in teams, in life - the loud applause goes to “the hero,” the founder, the public-face.

But around them stand countless Urmilas: the person who stayed back while others moved, the partner who surrendered comfort so another could serve, the person who worked when no one noticed.

Let us honour these unseen forces. Let us ask ourselves: Who is my Urmila? And am I willing to be Urmila? Because great stories aren’t just written by those in light - they are built by those in shadow.