Lava (Ramayana)

Lava (Sanskrit: लव) (sometimes Lav) and his twin brother Kusha are the children of the Hindu god Rama and his wife Sita Devi, whose story is told in the Ramayana. According to legends, he was the founder of the city of Lahore, which bears its name after him.

Born in the Forest after Sita had been banished from Ayodhya, they were educated and trained in military skills and were under the care of Sage Valmiki.

When Rama performed the Ashvamedha Yagya, then they challenged their father (who was at this point unknown to them) to a duel by holding up the Yagya horse. When Rama found out their identity, he took them back to Ayodhya.

They grew up into just rulers like their father and founded the cities of Lahore and Kasur respectively; Lahore is now second largest city of Pakistan. The Lohana tribe, of the Kshatriya caste, claim their descendancy and aristocratic legitimacy from Lava, and have at various periods of Indian history held ruling positions in the north and west of the Indian sub-continent. Lohanas today continue to hold Lava and Rama in especially high esteem.