Hari Om.
Let us begin the thirty fifth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
In the unimaginable turn of events, rAma who was to be crowned as the heir apparent is about to embark on a fourteen year sojourn to the forest. Underscoring their inseparability from rAma, sItA and lakshmaNa insist on accompanying rAma to the forest and he had to grant them permission. The trio give away all their possessions in charity and walk through the streets of ayOdhyA to the abode of daSaratha to take leave of him. The citizens are shocked at this twist of fate. But their love for rAma is so great that they think through their course to abandon homes and go wherever rAma is. The trio meet the king in full view of his three hundred fifty wives and other kin. The king is a very picture of devastation and is rendered unconscious. He is mercilessly torn between the dharma to honor his words and his love for rAma. He even suggests rAma to imprison him and usurp the kingdom! But rAma slowly but resolutely consoles the king of their immediate duty and at the end the king seems resigned to the fact that he cannot prevent the journey of rAma. Onwards…
Minister sumantra was shaking his head and sighing heavily. He clenched his fists, was grinding his teeth and his eyes turned red in anger. He grasped the mind of king daSaratha (his helplessness) and unleashed a thunderous assault through his harsh words aimed at exposing kaikEyi. He rained on her –
“O kaikEyi, you have shaken this king, the lord of earth, unshakeable like a mountain, unperturbed like an ocean through your evil acts and by this you are killing both your husband and the race. Do not act with such contempt against your husband, for husband wish is dearer than the wishes of ten million sons for a woman. It is the accepted tradition in ikshvAkus that the authority passes to the heir upon the death of the king and why do you want to break this tradition? By crossing the limits on tradition, you will ensure that no learned person stays in your country. You can enjoy this land and let bharata rule it. Certainly we all and the leaned ones and brAhmins will go where rAma is. What will you then do with this kingdom acquired thus dishonourably? I wonder how the earth is bearing such a cruel act of banishment of rAma and why you are not turning into ashes cursed by the great sages!
By uprooting a mango tree and planting a neem tree in its place and by sprinkling milk on that one never gets a sweet fruit! In fact the famous saying goes that honey doesn’t drip from neem tree! Even so, you have inherited the crooked nature of your mother. We have known the stubborn attitude of your mother.
Once your father received a boon from a bestower that he can understand the language of all birds and beasts and he can communicate that to others only at the cost of his life. One day while resting he broke out into a loud laughter discerning the communication of some creature. Your mother who was nearby got curious first and inquired the cause of his laughter. The king remembered the condition laid by the bestower and expressed his inability to relate the matter to the queen since he would lose his life. The adamant queen didn’t care – the king can live or die, it didn’t matter; she had to know the cause of his laughter. The king was in a fix. He checked with the bestower what to do. The bestower said, let the queen die or otherwise, the reason for laughter cannot be disclosed. Your father then got stern and dismissed your mother from his presence and lived happily like kubEra.
Your adamant behavior is exactly like that of your mother, exploiting the infatuation the king has for you to secure your evil intentions. The empirical observation in the world that son takes after the father and daughter takes after the mother appears true to me today.
O kaiKeyi, do not be stupid like your mother and bring the glorious king to troubles. Do not thrust unrighteousness on the king and bring him ignominy. Rather abide by his wish, be his saviour – he shall surely make good your two boons. Let the valiant, generous, dutiful and protector of the world and his own dharma – rAma be coronated. O dEvi, be rest assured that you will incur the curse of the world if indeed rAma heads to the forest leaving behind his father. Therefore, shed this stupidity. There is none more competent than rAma to rule this world. With the able rAma ruling over this world, king daSaratha can retire into the forests gracefully and lead the rest of his life in happiness.
Thus sumantra blew hot and cold, tried harsh and soft speech in turns to convince kaikEyi to shed her adamant wish and rested his voice with folded hands in the presence of the king”.
Despite such a comprehensive barrage, neither was kaikEyi perturbed nor was she apologetic. There was hardly any reaction on her face to the monologue of sumantra!
Here we conclude the thirty fifth 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: 2.36. Sagacious siddhArta speaks up
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 