The father of Lord Ramachandra. Having promised two boons to one of his wives, he was bound to his word when she demanded that Rama be exiled to the forest and her son enthroned instead. Dasharatha granted her request but soon died from the anguish of separation from Rama.

Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST Daśaratha) is the father of Rama, the heroic prince and avatar of Vishnu in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Within the tale Dasaratha was the king of Ayodhya and a descendant of Raghuvamsa. He had three wives, Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi.