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Hari Om.
Let us begin the twelfth sarga of the ayOdhyakAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
King daSaratha beholds sulking kaikEyi in the house of wrath who was reminiscent of a goddess fallen from grace, unkempt, bereft of jewels, draped in soiled clothes. Unable to fathom the reason behind this tantrum of the queen, daSaratha, charged with passion and affection towards his darling queen holds her by the shoulders and placates her endearingly promising a world of goodies! Sensing the opportunity kaikEyi and reminding him of the boons given in the past which she had kept in abeyance, she grabs hold of the king mentally. The king remembers the boons and swears on rAma to fulfil her wishes!!! Oh, how royally he gets trapped!! Having got the commitment of the king, kaikEyi puts forth her wishes – crowning of bharata in lieu of rAma and banishment of rAma to the danDaka forests for fourteen years. Onwards…
Having heard the twin demands of kaikEyi, king daSaratha was extremely distressed! Unable to digest what he heard, he wondered if it was an illusion or hallucination or a play of mind or the foreboding of evil. King daSaratha sank onto the ground distraught and devastated by the ruthless words of kaikEyi. He lay helpless and distressed like a deer beholding a tigress, like a snake confined by the power of mantra! He couldn’t find any joy and lost his senses, completely overwhelmed with sorrow.
After a long time, the king sighing deeply regained his senses and looked at kaikEyi with eyes red in anger and said – “You cruel woman, one of wicked character, you are out to destroy our clan. What harm has been done to you by either rAma or me? rAma always treats you as his mother and yet why are you meting out this injustice to him? Alas, out of my utter ignorance I brought my destruction home in form of this wicked princess who is a venomous female serpent. When the whole world extols rAma for his virtues, on what account should I banish my son? I can in fact, give up, kausalya or sumitra or my entire wealth or indeed my very life, but I cannot give up rAma, who is so devoted to his father.
परा भवति मे प्रीतिर्दृष्ट्वा तनयमग्रजम्।।2.12.12।।
अपश्यतस्तु मे रामं नष्टा भवति चेतना।
When I behold my eldest, I am filled with delight. I go lifeless when I don’t see him. Perhaps the world can survive without sun or water or crop. But my life will desert me without rAma. O evil minded lady, please give up this demand. I touch my head to your feet and plead with you. But kaikEyi, why at all these dreadful desires? Leave aside my disposition towards bharata, you were highly fond of rAma, treating him as your eldest son. Then, why this change of mind? Who has influenced you, I am sure, on advise of others you have entered this house of wrath which is distressing me greatly.
O dEvi, your deranged mind is bringing upon great ignominy on the ikshvAku clan. I can’t believe your words at all! You have never displeased me all these years and in fact you have told me several times how you love rAma and how he is equal to your own son bharata for you. How could you even think of banishing such a great soul to the forest for fourteen years?
I find no reason which should you compel you to banish the tender and righteous rAma to the forest. He cares for you even more than all the numerous attenders in your abode, why, even more than bharata himself. Then what makes you choose bharata ahead of him? There is not a tiny blot on the way rAma conducts himself. With a pure heart, he does good to the people and wins their hearts.
rAma wins the worlds with truth, wins the brAhmins through charity, pleases the hearts of gurus by serving them and wins over the enemies with his bow. rAma is an unmistakable embodiment of truth, charity, asceticism, renunciation, purity, uprightness, learning and service to his gurus.
सत्येन लोकान् जयति दीनान् दानेन राघवः।
गुरूञ्छुश्रूषया वीरो धनुषा युधि शात्रवान्।।2.12.29।।
सत्यं दानं तपस्त्यागो मित्रता शौचमार्जवम्।
विद्या च गुरुशुश्रूषा ध्रुवाण्येतानि राघवे।।2.12.30।।
How can you wish ill of such a rAma who is upright and equal to gods in his ascetic lustre, who never speaks ill of anyone and how do you I speak harshly to such a rAma, for your sake?
Who is my refuge other than the one in whom forgiveness, sacrifice, forbearance, truth, righteousness, gratitude and nonviolence reside?
क्षमा यस्मिन्दमस्त्याग सत्यं धर्मः कृतज्ञता।
अप्यहिंसा च भूतानां तमृते का गतिर्मम।।2.12.33।।
O kaikEyi, you ought to show pity on this old man wailing and on the verge of death. Please ask for anything else that can be secured in this vast earth and I shall get that for you. I bow to you, I beseech you, I touch your feet, please do not cause harm to rAma. Don’t taint my life by insisting on your desires”.
Thus king daSaratha repeatedly bewailed, bemoaned and beseeched kaikEyi to spare her desires and lost senses again and again. He grievously appealed to her repeatedly to not press her demands and help him cross this ocean of grief as soon as possible.
Seeing this lamentation of the king unfavourable to her, an angry kaikEyi used even angrier words and said – “if indeed you are repenting and lamenting so much for the boons you offered me in the past how on earth will make claim to righteousness again, O king? What answer will you give when asked about this breach of promise in the assembly of sagely kings? Will you say, yes, I broke my promise given to kaikEyi by whose mercy I am alive today?
By breaking your promise, you will become a blot unto the lineage of the hallowed ikshvAku kings. Remember how the kings have gone out of their ways to keep their promise – king alarka gave away his eyes and attained liberation, king Saibya parted with his own flesh to address a conflict between a hawk and pigeon. The ocean doesn’t cross it’s shores remembering the word it has given to the gods. Follow these examples and do not break your promise.
Wicked king! You want to deviate from the righteous path, install rAma as heir apparent and enjoy life with kausalya? No way! Whether it’s right or not, you must respect the boons that you conferred on me in the past. Should you go ahead with crowning of rAma and I see kausalya being congratulated by all for the same even for a day, I will take excessive poison and give up my life right in front of you. I swear on bharata and on my very life, nothing less than rAma’s banishment will satisfy me”.
Thus kaikEyi upped her ante and rejected the beseeching appeals of the king to reconsider her demands and went silent.
The king daSaratha on the other hand, gazed at his dear queen hurling unpleasant and hurtful utterances at him and vowing to take her life if the boons are not honored. Her dreadful demands of rAma’s banishment and bharata’s prosperity struck his heart like a thunderbolt and caused much grief and he fainted on the ground like a tree severed! His mind was deranged! He was in poor mental health now! He was hurt deeply and lay there like a snake defanged! He slowly and in low voice began to speak again –
“kaikEyi, why are you demonstrating this selfish trait and pressing on improper demands just because they appear beneficial to you? Aren’t you ashamed to speak like possessed by an evil spirit? Alas, I never knew this perverse side of yours! You have turned out to be quite opposite of what I thought of you. What sin have either me or rAma committed to you to ask for rAma’s banishment and bharata’s crowning? From where did you get wild thoughts such as these? If indeed you desire the welfare of the world, your husband and bharata desist from your demands. And do you think bharata will accept the kingdom after banishing rAma? Never? In matters of understanding of dharma I hold him higher than even rAma!
न कथञ्चिदृते रामाद्भरतो राज्यमावसेत्।।2.12.61।।
रामादपि हि तं मन्ये धर्मतो बलवत्तरम्।
How can I behold the dim countenance of rAma when I ask him to go to the forest? This unanimous decision to crown rAma was taken in consultation with the council and citizens. If I now go back on this, it will look like a king retreating defeated after the enemy has vanquished his army. Other tributary kings have begun to arrive to take part in the crowning ceremony and knowing this they are sure to wonder as to how this weak ikshvAku king ruled for so long! Nobody would believe me in the assembly of kings and scholars if I say that due to kaikEyi’s insistence I sent rAma off to forest, even if that is the truth.
And what of kausalya? By banishing rAma, what justification can I give her? kausalya sincerely ever attended to me with the love of a wife, friend, mother, sister and even dutifulness of an attender. She gave me my darling son rAma. Although she deserved the best attention from me, just because of you, she never got it. I have done many favors to you in the past but now am reaping the results of those like a person who gets sick by eating rotten and unwholesome food.
How will sumitra ever will have faith in me after rAma is exiled? And what of vaidEhi? How can she tolerate the twin blows of rAma exile and my death? Her pitiable cry upon exile of rAma is sure to leave me dead. I wish not to see her piteous wailing and rAma’s banishment. After I am dead, you will surely rule over this kingdom as a widow along with your son. Just like people consider intoxicants such as wine mixed in poison to be good before partaking it, I was too carried away by your charms and never knew of your poisonous aspect and considered you a woman who wished me well.
How wrong I was! You consoled me in the past speaking pleasing words which you never meant and after trapped and hunted me like a deer! Oh, what a calamity and suffering are your words causing. I was so innocent to have protected you all along like a rope which was preserved turned out to be a noose to hang me with. While engaged with you happily I never realized you are really my death like a child holding a poisonous black cobra in his hand thinking it to be a rope!
The learned and the common will alike brand me a person who sold his son and censure me like a brAhmin who sips wine! People are sure to say how lustful and intoxicated king daSaratha was to banish his eldest son, all for the sake of a woman! Alas, I will make rAma fatherless. I deserve the censure of the world.
rAma is already emaciated by the vow of celibacy for the undertaken sake of crowning. At a time when he should be dipping in pleasures of the life, he will encounter hardships again! rAma will not speak a second word if I ask him to go to forest, he will obey me implicitly. His revolt will be welcome, but he will not do it. The best of raghus will just set out for forest. And condemned by the whole world I shall be consigned to the abode of yama, the god of death. With me dead and rAma in forest, what harm will you do to my well wishers.
Once I am dead, kausalya will die too and having lost her rAma, lakshmaNa, Satrughna will follow us. Queen sumitra can’t survive our loss. O kaikEyi, with us headed out to hell, you be happy! The hallowed ikshvAku race will grieve with loss of me and rAma and your ruling it unrivaled. Remember, if bharata approves the exile of rAma, he has no right to conduct funeral rites to my dead body! You lived in my house as a princess but only brought me condemnation and utter disrepute!
Oh! How my rAma who is used to riding a chariot or a horse or an elephant will walk barefooted in the forest? My son, for whom a battery of chefs prepare the tastiest of foods proudly will live on bitter coction, fruits and roots? And how will the one clad in the best of royal attires sleep on the ground donning ochre clothes? Fie on you? How could you even contemplate something as terrible as the exile of rAma and crowning of bharata? bharata’s mother, not all women are selfish and secretly harm others. This is shameful. Fie on her!
You determined wretch, evil, what blemish did you find to desire this for rAma who is ever engaged in others welfare? This will cause a huge disturbance in the homes and the society – fathers will abandon their sons, wives will leave their husbands.
When my son rAma walks towards me, I forget my old age and grow young. My heart leaps in delight. It is so for everyone. The world can survive if Sun doesn’t rise or indra doesn’t send rain, but I am convinced none will want to live seeing rAma headed to forest”.
Thus the king pleaded and cursed in turns at this unavoidable challenge that his dharma hurled at him. He further said –
“kaikEyi, how did your speech not fail to utter something as cruel as this? How could you say this unpleasant things about rAma who cannot speak unpleasant words to anyone at all? Even if you prefer to burn yourself and die, I shall not act on your words. No way. You may choose to kill yourself, go ahead, you knife, speaker of pleasant lies, killer of your race”.
And then again his tone changed to one of pleading.
“There is no life for me without rAma, what to speak of joy? I have lived all along with self respect. What will become of me? kaikEyi, I plead with you. I touch your feet”.
Thus, the mighty king piteously wailed like an orphan child and stooped to touch the feet of the queen kaikEyi, but couldn’t, as she pulled those back!
Here we conclude the twelfth sarga of the ayOdhya kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Next: 2.13. No joy for daSaratha!
Previous: 2.11. The queer pitch of the queen
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 