Hari Om.
Let us begin the sixty first sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Minister sumantra has completed his job very faithfully and overcoming his personal choices. Given a chance he would stay back in the forest with rAma. But pobity demanded that he should go back to ayOdhyA and report the completion of mission of dropping rAma beyond the state boundaries and also verbatim carry rAma’s message to daSaratha. Much against his wishes, he lives true to his duty and comes and conveys the message of rAma to the king and then to kausalyA he tries to convey a pacifying message of how sportively and happily sItA is treating her dwelling in the forest. The queen bleeds specially for sItA wondering how the delicate princess would be able to put up with the forest life. Minister sumantra conveys the delight that sItA experiences in the presence of rAma oblivious of the surroundings and how she makes every attempt to make him happy. He is convinced that the trio are scripting a chapter that will go down in the history of mankind, so be it, but kausalyA can’t overcome her grief. Onwards…
As the righteous rAma proceeded to the forest, queen kausalyA wept bitterly and out of her anguish said these words to her husband daSaratha –
“O king rAghava, you are well known in the three worlds as compassionate, sweet spoken and generous. How will your two sons and sItA used to the comforts of the palace put up with the difficulties of forest life? How will the young, sixteen-something and delicate maithili (sItA) bear the extremes of forest life? The lotus-eyed beauty relished delicious preparations in the palace and how can she now subsist on wild grains of the forest? How will she who reveled to the tunes of musical instruments feel upon hearing the ferocious roars of the wild beasts such as lions? How will the flagship scion of raghus, the mighty armed rAma sleep on the ground with his iron-hard arm as pillow? Alas, when will I behold the beautiful countenance of rAma with his lovely locks and lotus-like beautiful eyes? Ah, without doubt my heart is made of hard diamond, or else how does it not split into a thousand pieces knowing the travails of rama? Thanks to your heartless actions O king, my relatives and rAma, although deserving of comforts are leading a difficult life running around in wilderness.
In the fifteenth year when rAma returns to ayOdhyA, bharata would have grown so used to ruling of the kingdom that he won’t even give up the treasury in favour of rAma. When the learned brAhmins come for the shrAdhha (death anniversary) ceremonies, if the performer feeds others prior to the brAhmins, even if ambrosia is served the learned brAhmins won’t accept. The best among brAhmins don’t brook this slight just like the bull doesn’t brook its horns to be shorn [bull is used to imply the best among someone or something].
[Here mahaRshi refers to the practice of inviting brAhmins in the ceremonies and worshipping them as embodiments of the departed forefathers and offering them food first. The food is supposed to reach the forefathers in the higher worlds and bring their blessings. This is a prevalent custom even today]
A tiger never craves for the food hunted by another beast. Similar to the learned brAhmins and the tiger, why would the elder want to take the kingdom that was enjoyed by the youngster? The paraphernalia used once in a yajna cannot be re-used. Even so, rAma will not accept this kingdom enjoyed by others. There is no way he will suffer this humiliation.
If enraged, rAma can even open up the mandara mountain. But out of his respect for his father, he won’t go after you. The fact that the earth is still surrounded by beautiful mountains and the sun, moon and stars have not been displaced means that rAma has chosen not to be angry.
rAma will not brook this sort of insult, just like a tiger doesn’t brook its tail being twisted. Remember he is mighty and holds the ability to unfurl untold devastation on this creation by virtue of his golden arrows and is well capable of fighting injustice and establishing dharma.
Such an all powerful son has been banished by his father and destroyed just like the fish consumes its own offspring. You have banished such a righteous rAma. Is it in accordance with the eternal scriptures and permitted by the wise? O king, the husband is the first refuge for a woman, next comes her child and then the relations. There is no fourth refuge for a woman in this world. For my sake, you do not exist and rAma has gone to the forest where I don’t want to go. That effectively means I have nowhere to go.
O king you have brought up this great ruin to the kingdom, its citizens, ministers and most of all yourself and myself. You have destroyed everyone. The only people happy are your son bharata and your wife kaikEyI”.
Listening to this bitter outpour from kausalyA, the king lost his senses. He wept bitterly repeatedly lamenting over the terrible harm that he has committed.
Here we conclude the sixty first 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
Click on the bow to listen to the audio by SrIrAma ghanApATi
Next: 2.62. kausalyA consoles…
Previous: 2.60. In search of silver lining
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 