 Rama is due to become king after his father's retirement, but his stepmother, Kaikeyi wants her son Bharat to take the throne.As King Dashratha had earlier promised to fulfill any two wishes for her, Kaikeyi demands that Rama should be banished to the forest for fourteen years and that Bharat should be crowned as king.Dasharatha keeps his word and with a heavy heart asks Rama to leave for the forest.