3.58. Despair descends

Hari Om.

Let us begin the fifty eighth sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.

MahaRshi vAlmIki demonstrates his lucid writing and screenplay by providing a continuous narration till the abduction of sItA was complete and she was placed in the aSOka grove and then shifted focus back to the janasthAna where rAma and lakshmaNa would be subjected to havoc. The bad omens were rife aroun rAma, the howling of jackals, screeching of birds and beats, his left eye twitching and his spirits were completely down. He headed back from where he slayed mAricha to the hermitage but the mimicry of his voice by mAricha in the dying moments filled him with apprehensions and anxiety. He guessed and rightly that, sItA would be alarmed by that voice and mistaking it for his, she would dispatch lakshmaNa to his rescue and in the meanwhile the demons would hurt her. It was becoming evident to rAma that this was a big conspiracy – the golden deer, it luring him far and in dying moments planting doubts and destruction in the minds of sItA! The whirlpool of his apprehensions swirled ever so strongly by the evil portents around him and though insipid in spirit, he hurried back to the hermitage. As if substantiating his worst fears, he saw a downcast lakshmaNa. rAma was flabbergasted! He held lakshmaNa’s hand and earnestly questioned him. Onwards….

The righteous rAma, beheld saumitri (lakshmaNa) who was gloomy and without sItA around and earnestly asked of him –

“O lakshmaNa, where is vaidEhi who followed me all the way to the danDaka forests? You seem to have come here leaving her behind. Where is sItA, who shares the burden and grief of this forlorn and banished rAma who runs about in the danDaka forests? Where is that goddess like sItA who sustains my life and without whom I don’t wish to be alive even for a moment? O lakshmaNa, without that golden complexioned jAnakI, I reject even the lordship of the gods and that of the earth. I wonder if she is alive or not and know this, if she is not alive, I will also cease to exist. That would put my vow of keeping my father’s word through my banishment of fourteen years will be rendered false. Alas! And when you head back to ayOdhyA without me, kaikEyI will feel fulfilled! As kaikEyI rules the earth through her son I hope the pious kausalyA without her son doesn’t have to be subservient to kaikEyI.

O lakshmaNa, I shall enter the hermitage only if sItA is alive and ready to welcome me with a smile or else I will simply perish. Tell me lakshmaNa, if vaidEhI is alive or has been swallowed by the demons as you demurred in your vigil. vaidEhI is young, delicate and has not experienced sorrow ever. She will be devastated to be separated from me.

सुकुमारी च बाला च नित्यं चादुःखदर्शिनी।

मद्वियोगेन वैदेही व्यक्तं शोचति दुर्मनाः।।3.58.12।।

I guess, vaidEhI was terrified to hear the mimicry of “alas lakshmaNa” by the crooked and scary demons and out of great fear prodded you to go for my rescue. It seems to have scared both of you and hence you have rushed to see me. However by leaving sItA alone in the forest you have invited great trouble upon us as it has provided a window of opportunity to the demons to extract revenge. The flesh-eating demons were saddened by my slaying of khara and would surely have gobbled up sItA. Alas, I am overwhelmed by sorrow and am full of doubts and despair and do not know what is it that I should immediately do”.

Thus brooding over the beautiful sItA, upbraiding the miserable lakshmaNa for having left her alone, a hungry, thirsty and and tired rAma with his face turned pale, sighing heavily and with a parched throat hurried to the hermitage along with lakshmaNa. Ensuring that was their dwelling place, they thoroughly searched around the area where they enjoyed earlier. Finding emptiness all around and not seeing sItA anywhere, rAma was shocked and his hair stood up!