Kaikeyi

Markandeya begins to answer Yudhishthira's request by tracing the lineage of Rama from the Ikshvaku king Aja through Dasharatha and his four sons. Then he turns to Ravana's birth, describing how the god Prajapati's line passed through Pulastya, and how a father's anger created the sage Vishrava — the father of the rakshasa king.

Markandeya tells Yudhishthira the full story of Rama's exile: Dasharatha's plan to instate his eldest son, Kaikeyi's demand for Bharata's throne and Rama's banishment, Rama's departure, Dasharatha's death from grief, Bharata's refusal of the crown, and the events that led Ravana to set his sights on Sita.