Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 4: Kuśa and Lava Meet Lord Rāmacandra
Text 1.4.5
कुशीलवौ तु धर्मज्ञौ राजपुत्रौ यशस्विनौ।
भ्रातरौ स्वरसम्पन्नौ ददर्शाश्रमवासिनौ॥
kuśī-lavau tu dharma-jñau rāja-putrau yaśasvinau
bhrātarau svara-sampannau dadarśāśrama-vāsinau
kuśī-lavau tu = Kuśa and Lava; dharma-jñau = knew dharma; rāja-putrau = princes; yaśasvinau = those famous; bhrātarau = the brothers; svara-sampannau = endowed with a melodious voice; dadarśa = [and he] saw that; aśrama-vāsinau = living in his āśrama.
And he saw those famous princes, the brothers Kuśa and Lava, who knew dharma, who were endowed with a melodious voice, and who were living in his āśrama.
Kuśa and Lava knew the dharma of rendering menial service to their spiritual master. As princes, they were filled with prowess. They were famous for practicing various skills. As brothers, their voices were equally melodious, with substantially healthy bodies. And as residents of Śrī Vālmīki’s āśrama, they were objects of his affection. Vālmīki considered them fit for receiving instructions.
From this, it is understood that the Rāmāyaṇa was composed after Lord Rāma’s coronation, as mentioned in the first verse of this chapter. It is indicated that Kuśa and Lava were born later. Foreseeing this, Lord Rāma left Śrī Sītā at Vālmīki’s āśrama.