Rama was the Vishnu avatar born to King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya.
In the Ramayana, Dasharatha ruled from Ayodhya and had three principal queens: Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. After a royal sacrifice intended to secure heirs, the king received divine payasam, which he distributed among them. Kaushalya gave birth to Rama, Kaikeyi to Bharata, and Sumitra to the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Rama is regarded in Hindu tradition as the seventh major avatar of Vishnu in the commonly used Dashavatara sequence. He is also the central hero of the Ramayana, where his exile, Sita’s abduction, alliance with Hanuman, and defeat of Ravana form the epic’s central arc.
A common mix-up is confusing Rama with his brothers. Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna are also sons of Dasharatha, but Rama alone is Kaushalya’s son and the avatar identified with Vishnu. Kaushalya is sometimes spelled Kausalya in transliterated Sanskrit.