Hari Om.
Let us begin the twenty fourth sarga of the ayOdhyakAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Both rAma and lakshmaNa are at kausalyA’s abode. Brother lakshmaNa is livid at the turn of events. His love for rAma supercedes anything else. So he suggests a forcible transfer of power. rAma invokes destiny and says it is all powerful. His brother condemns and pooh-poohs destiny in no uncertain terms and urges rAma to allow him to go and vanquish anyone who opposes his crowning. He boasts of his peerless might and vows to establish kingdom of rAma even by banishing both kaikEyi and daSaratha! His unconditional eagerness to serve rAma is both touching and exemplary. Even with all such capabilities at his disposal, he is obedient to rAma and asks for his permission to run through the enemies! rAma is unmoved! For him following the diktat of his father is supreme! Onwards…
Mother kausalyA noticed the determination of rAma to go to the forests. She was distraught. She sadly reflected how her son whose servants and attendants consume delicious food is to subsist on sparse grains, root and fruits in the forest. Ah, such cruel fate! She felt it would devastate anyone to learn that the sweet spoken rAma who is loved by all is banished to forest. She lamented that if the rAma who is loved and cherished by all can be banished, it just proves that destiny is unbeatable. She imagined her life without her son to be one of a raging fire fanned by the wind of the absence of her son, her grief being the firewood and tears being the clarified butter helping the raging fire. She was sure to be broken down and emaciated by this raging fire with her deep sighs. His absence would burn her off like the sun burns off the dry grass in the summer! She expressed her desire to follow rAma much like a cow follows her calf. To her laments, rAma replied – “O mother, father has already been deceived by kaikEyi. If you also follow me to the forest leaving him alone, he shall not survive. It is indeed cruel for a woman to forsake her husband. The eternal dharma dictates that as long as my father, the king is alive, you should serve him well. For me and you both, observance of the words of my father is the ultimate resort. He is our lord, preceptor and our master. I shall spend fourteen years in the forest recollecting and honoring your words.”
The auspicious kausalyA was delighted at the words of rAma who was unshakeable in his action. She was thrilled at the way rAma nuanced and stuck to dharma and yet out of deep grief she poured out – “O rAma, it will be impossible to live among the taunting cowives. Please do take me along with you to the forest”. rAma pacified her – “O mother, as long the lord and master, our king is alive we cannot become orphans. He shall take care of us. So grieve not. For a woman, her husband is the immediate lord. Moreover, bharata is also sweet-spoken and knower of dharma. He shall surely be obedient to you. Please ensure that the king doesn’t suffer a lot due to my absence after I go to the forest. Take care of him like that. Overcome your grief and being in good shape of mind, serve him and ensure he doesn’t succumb to the grief my absence. Even a woman who observes all vows and fasts piously suffers bad ways if she doesn’t serve her husband. On the other hand, even if the woman doesn’t perform worship or salute the gods attains the high heavens by serving her husband with devotion. This is the dharma for a woman as laid down in the vEdas and smritis and being followed since time immemorial. O mother, for my sake, worship the god of fire with help of great brAhmins and following a controlled regimen of food and thought serve your husband well and await my return. In case my father survives till I return, you will see your desires fulfilled then”.
She heard the dissuading and reasonable words of rAma laced with dharma and was unable to negate those. With tears flowing down she addressed him and said – “O rAma, it appears you are firm in your resolve and I am not able to dissuade you from your decision. Go ahead O rAma and may the Lord protect you. Only upon your return shall my happiness return. When you return from the forest having completed your vow, you would have established your father in truth and thus redeemed your debt to him and that will make me very happy. If you are disregarding my words and going to forest, it is indeed true that destiny is all powerful. Go ahead O mighty rAma and return safely. Do thrill me with your sweet speech upon your return. How nice it would be if today were the day of your return from the forest wearing matted locks and barks. (But alas, I need to wait)”.
Seeing the unshakeable resolve of rAma to honor the words of his father and grasping the dharma in it kausalyA prepared to perform the appropriate ceremony to invoke gods and ensure for rAma a safe sojourn to the forest.
Here we conclude the twenty fourth sarga of the ayOdhya kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Click on the book for word by word meaning from IITK website
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Next: 2.25. The mother of all blessings!
Previous: 2.23. livid lakshmaNa, stoic rAma!
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 