Hari Om.
Let us begin the twenty second sarga of the ayOdhyakAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
rAma and lakshmaNa enter the abode of mother kausalya where the festivities and vows pertaining to crowning of rAma are in full swing. Entering in to that festive atmosphere, rAma broke the terrible news of his immediate exile to mother kausalya. Expectedly she was distraught and deeply depressed to learn the same. And invoking her equal stake holding in deciding rAma’s future she refuses to grant him permission. Her insecurities in the royal family in the middle of other co-wives surface as she foresees a terrible treatment for her in the absence of rAma. She is ready to accompany rAma! Meanwhile, lakshmaNa of the valorous mettle had other plans! He suggests a coup, to usurp the power from daSaratha and rAma ruling the land which is his due. Deeply hurt due to his immeasurable rAma he prepares to slay anyone who is opposed to the thought of crowning of rAma. But rAma doesn’t agree! Perhaps, this is where the true appreciation of rAma’s sterling character begins! rAma advises lakshmaNa against his intentions, and reminds him – as well as kausalya – that he is not prepared to rule over the insignificant earth by not following dharma! Neither kausalya nor lakshmaNa are convinced! Onwards…
Brother lakshmaNa was not at all convinced with the justification rAma provided for the banishment. He was in terrible misery, hissing like an angry serpent, deeply pained by rAma’s exile. rAma was the very picture of composure. Highly self-controlled, with great mental strength, he approached his beloved brother and said – “O saumitri, restrain your bitterness and anger and be courageous. Discard this feeling of humiliation and bear joy in mind. Let the same enthusiasm and keenness that was shown for my crowning, be shown in calling off the crowning. Let us not give more anxious moments to mother kaikEyi on account of her apprehension regarding my crowning. I don’t want her to nurse this niggling doubt about my coronation and be unhappy. O brother, I don’t remember an instance of having caused unhappiness to our father or mothers either intentionally or unintentionally. Our father, truly valiant by the power of truth, ever-truthful and ever abiding by truth, should not feel apprehensive about his sojourn in the other worlds on account of not keeping his word. That will surely cause a lot of mental agony for him. That agony in turn will be tortuous for me. If the festivities and preparations are not suspended there will be apprehension in everybody’s mind. Therefore, suspend all these preparations immediately and I shall proceed to the forests right away. The queen kaikEyi wants to see me dressed in bark and deer skin wearing matted locks and going away to forest. Once I do so, she will enthrone bharata and be happy. They must have deliberated on the merits of this thoroughly and I don’t want to question that.
O lakshmaNa, whether it is the decision of my coronation or the dramatic revocation of that followed by my banishment – it is the play of destiny. How else can you explain the change of heart of kaikEyi to inflict this pain upon me? Just as I have never discriminated among my mothers, kaikEyi also never discriminated between me and bharata. If it were not destiny how could that kaikEyi who is otherwise noble and virtuous condescend to the level of an ordinary woman speak such harsh and unyielding words against me and my father to cancel my coronation? Therefore, this change of her heart all of a sudden and my star turn, both signify the unassailable power of destiny. One just cannot escape it. Which man has the power to fight destiny except following its diktat? Happiness, misery, insecurity, fear, anger, birth, death, gain, or loss – all these are results of only destiny. Even the sages performing intense penance with self-control are not capable of averting destiny. They have fallen victims to it and trapped in anger and passion. Sudden occurrences of entirely unanticipated events can only be attributed to destiny.
I control my mind by my intellect and hence am not saddened by the sudden and abrupt turn of events. Therefore, you also must be like me and discard grief, and suspend these preparations for my coronation. Perhaps with this very water collected for my crowning, my purifying bath to invoke austerity can happen. Or maybe not! What is the use of this water which is the king’s property? I shall draw water from the wells with my own hands for that purpose. O lakshmaNa, therefore do not grieve over the loss of kingdom for me. If you ask me to choose between ruling over the earth and living in the forest, I deem living in the forest to be certainly more glorious. Brother, there is no point blaming kaikEyi for all this. She has been influenced to do so by destiny”.
Here we conclude the twenty second 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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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 