Ramayana - Shanta Sister of Lord Rama

It might come as a surprise to you that lord Rama had a sister too.

IHMO, she must be the most under-played character of epic Ramayana.
Her name was Shanta. 

She was the eldest of all four brothers.
Shanta is a well documented character in Tulsidas Ramayana. 

The story goes something like this:

Daughter of  king Dasharatha and Kausalya, but was adopted by the king of Angadesh, Raja Rompad, and her aunt Vershini, an elder sister of Kausalya. 

Vershini had no children, and, when at Ayodhya, Vershini jokingly asked for offspring. To this, Dasharatha agreed to allow the adoption of his daughter. 

However, the word of Raghukul was binding, and Shanta became the princess of Angadesh.

Bonus Fact:

As Dashratha had no children after Shanta, he wanted a son to continue his legacy and to enrich his royal dynasty. He called Rishyasringa to perform a putra-kameshthi yagya to beget progeny, and as the consequence of the said Yagya were born: Rama, Bharata, and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanta