Introduction
Kusha is one of the twin sons of Rama and Sita, born at the hermitage of the sage Valmiki and raised there with his brother Lava.
This article primarily follows the Valmiki Ramayana. Where a well-known detail comes from a later retelling or tradition, the article identifies it.
Family
Birth and the recitation
Kusha and Lava grew up in Valmiki's ashram, where they learned the Ramayana. They sang it before Rama in Ayodhya, and Valmiki revealed that they were his sons.
Kushavati
Before leaving the world, Rama made Kusha ruler of Kushavati, a city in the south of Kosala. In Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha, he later married Kumudvati, a Naga princess, and their son was Atithi. The name Kusha is also connected in tradition with the sacred kusha grass, and one tradition says that Valmiki named him after the grass.