Hari Om.
Let us begin the one hundred sixteenth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Right from the sixty ninth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam [2.69. Bad omens besiege bharata] prince bharata is a major player after the banishment of rAma and the death of king daSaratha. While anyone would accept a kingdom that came without asking for it and enjoy the same, prince bharata is made of different stuff! His commitment to dharma is matched by his supreme love for rAma. He brushes aside his scheming mother kaikEyI [2.73. The wrath of the righteous], assures mother kausalyA [2.74. The bharata of perfect priorities! 2.75. bharata solemnly swears his innocence] and opposes the request of the council to get crowned as king. He was beyond sure that rAma is the only ruler of ayOdhyA and there was absolutely no way he could entertain the thought of sitting on the throne. He declared that he shall go and bring rAma back from the forests. [2.80. Laying the royal road to rAma!] The citizens who were by now coming to terms with the possibility of new dispensation were absolutely thrilled to learn of this righteous thought of bharata. They all joined and accompanied by the council, mothers, a large army and contingent of citizens headed to where rAma was. On the way bharata had to face questions from guha [2.84. guha is vigilant about rAma] and sage bharadwAja [2.90. bharata meets the benevolent bharadwAja]. By now bharata is also clad in barks and wearing matted locks. Guided by sage bharadwAja and helped by guha the contingent reaches chitrakUTa. Meeting rAma, feeling devastated at the state of his comfort deserving elder brother, bharata falls at his feet. Strangely rAma, as if to distract bharata from his mission of fetching him goes off on a tangent to detail 2.100. The tenets of rAma rAjya!! Loving brother bharata submits he has no need for these lessons as he has come to request rAma to return! After updating about the death of the king and mourning the same together, the debate begins. While bharata invokes the traditional dharma of the ikshvAkus where the eldest always inherits the throne as a matter of right, rAma doesn’t yield to this argument and invokes an equally and if not more important dharma of keeping one’s word, especially to a deceased father! Others also try to pitch in, but rAma was immovable from his dharma just as the mountain himAchala! Brother bharata even attempts a protest until the demand is met or death, but rAma points out that this was against his dharma! Finally, desperate bharata tells the citizens and rAma that he cannot be in rAma’s shoes and falls down at the feet of rAma. Then upon the advice of sage vasisTha, the gold studded sandals that bharata had brought with him for rAma, are blessed by rAma and the prince returns with those to nandigrAma, a suburb ner ayOdhyA to administer ayOdhyA from there as a trustee. Onwards…
[After bharata left for ayOdhyA from chitrakUTa, the camera swings back to rAma now.]
As bharata returned to ayOdhyA and rAma tred to settle down he noticed something strange. He saw that the attitude of the sages who lived around in that area with him and sought protection from him had somewhat changed. They cast suspicious glances at him with raised eyebrows and murmured among themselves! This made rAma feel somewhat uneasy and he approached the chancellor of the hermitage and with folded palms asked him, wanting to clarify the matter –
“O great sire, I see that something is bothering the sages at the chitrakUTa. Did you see any change in my conduct that bothers you? Or has my brother lakshmaNa inadvertently caused any discomfort to you. Or is it sItA who is every engaged in serving me and all of you did not conduct herself appropriately”?
Listening to rAma’s question and especially the enquiry with respect to the conduct of the three of them, an old and accomplished ascetic trembled and submitted to rAma, who was compassionate to all beings –
अथर्षिर्जरया वृद्धस्तपसा च जरां गतः।
वेपमान इवोवाच रामं भूतदयापरम्।।2.116.8।।
“O rAma, sItA is auspicious by nature and ever engaged in auspicious deeds, how can there be any indifference in him with respect to her conduct and especially with ascetics. O rAma, not very far from here is janasthAna, a place in the forests infested by the demons led by khara. He is the brother of rAvaNa. He is impudent, reportedly victorious, violent and a cannibal who feasts on men. He has displaced the ascetics from janasthAna and won’t relish your presence here either. In fact, ever since you started living here, the attacks on the ascetics have increased. Therefore all the Rshis here are worried about the increased attacks from the demons on account of your presence and are murmuring about it. The demons appear in terrifying and terrible forms, employing deceitful tactics and appearing suddenly in front of the ascetics kill them. They spring up on the sacrificial altars when we are about perform the yajnas, desecrate and ransack the place and destroy all paraphernalia. Therefore all the Rshis here are urging me to abandon this hermitage move elsewhere to safety and escape the violence of the demons. And we have decided to do so and move to a hermitage not very far from here and well endowed with fruits, roots and seek shelter there. O rAma, the terrible khara will be impudent to you as well and even though you are vigilant and capable of protecting yourself, I think it is not proper for you to stay along with your wife. Therefore if you so decide, you may follow us”.
It was not possible for rAma to convince the anxious Rshis by assurances. They were firm to abandon the current hermitage and move. The chancellor paid his respect to rAma and then left alaong with his companions.
rAma followed the migrating Rshis for a while, understood their points of view and got convinced of their predicament and decision. He returned to the Ashram and was constantly in their thoughts. Alerted and warned by them about the likely perils, he didn’t move away from that hermitage even for a while.
Here we conclude the one hundred sixteenth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 2.117. Chastity acclaims chastity
Previous: 2.115. bharata, the trustee
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 