Introduction
Lava is one of the twin sons of Rama and Sita. He was born at the hermitage of the sage Valmiki, and he and his brother Kusha were the first to sing the Ramayana in public.
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 education
According to the Uttara Kanda, Sita was sent into the forest by Rama and gave birth at Valmiki's ashram. The sage taught the boys the Vedas, the use of weapons and the whole Ramayana, which they learned to sing.
Singing before Rama
When Rama performed a horse sacrifice, Lava and Kusha came to Ayodhya and sang the Ramayana in the assembly, without saying who they were. Rama was moved, and Valmiki revealed that the boys were his own sons. In later retellings the story includes a battle in which the boys capture the sacrificial horse and fight Rama's army; this detail is not in Valmiki.
Later life
Before leaving the world, Rama installed his sons as rulers. Lava became the ruler of Shravasti.