Hari Om.
Let us begin the seventy eighth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The last rites of king daSaratha were conducted with due ceremony by the righteous and virtuous prince bharata. As he lamented the loss of his father and exile of his dear brother, he was advised by the precetor to prioritize his actions presently and ever aware of his dharma, he completed the last rites and the succeeding ceremonies during the mourning period of twelve days. On the thirteenth morning bharata and Satrughna visited the funeral pyre of their father along with other preceptors and ministers. As the sense of the devastating loss of a benevolent and righteous king and father was sinking in, they were drowned in sorrow beholding the mortal remnants that were to be united with the elements. The preceptors and ministers spoke words appropriate of the occasion about the ephemeral nature of life and how the show must go on. Thanks to that timely and appropriate counsel, the brothers gathered themselves and completed the ceremony. Onwards…
After the completion of the mourning period as the dejected bharata was preparing to journey to rAma in order to bring him back, the other saumitri, lakshamaNa’s younger brother, Satrughna addressed him –
“He who is the refuge of all beings in their misery, that virtuous rAma didn’t save himself from this misery and was exiled to the forest along with his wife. I wonder why the mighty and valiant lakshmaNa didn’t come to rAma’s rescue even if by restraining the king! Of course, even before that, the king should have restrained himself through discrimination of whether it was the right thing to banish rAma while being manipulated by a woman”
As he spoke thus aggressively, he beheld in the threshold of the palace, the hunchback, the raison d’etre of the whole episode, well dressed, bejeweled, smeared with fragrant sandal paste, with shining waist bands around her resembling a female monkey tied up with ropes! The gatekeeper examined her and understood that she was the source of this devastation in ayOdhyA, took her captive and produced in front of prince Satrughna and said –
“The reason why rAma has gone to the forest and your father has left his body is here produced in front of you. Please treat her as appropriate”.
Prince Satrughna was livid to find her and said – “she has caused unending misery to us brothers and our father and she must pay for these terrible actions”.
Saying so, he caught hold of her to punish her. The hunchback was surrounded by her attendants who all fled at once fearing their very lives for being with her. They all rushed to mother kausalyA who is righteous and virtuous to seek her protection from the fiery Satrughna. The prince with red eyes, seething in anger, dragged the hunchback on the ground, venting his pent up anger and as he did so, she cried out miserably and her ornaments were all broken and strewn around in the palace. With the glittering pieces of the dazzling ornaments, the palace shone like the starry sky of an autumn night! He dragged the wily hunchback, determined to punish her for her misdeed and lambasted kaikEyI with harsh words for her folly. The lady kaikEyI was mortally afraid of the livid Satrughna and sought refuge of her son bharata. Prince bharata immediately restrained Satrughna and said – “O brother, of all beings, a woman ought not be killed. Pardon her. If the righteous rAma would not accuse me slaying one’s mother, I would have slain this kaikEyI as well. Likewise if rAma comes to know that the wicked hunchback, a woman has been slain by us, for whatever reason, he is sure not to speak to us”.
Mindful of brother bharata’s words, Satrughna released the hunchback from his clutches and she fell at the feet of kaikEyI crying and with deep sighs and lost her senses. It was upto kaikEyI to apply balm and soothing to a sulking manthara who just regained her life thanks to the righteous bharata.
Here we conclude the seventy eighth 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: 2.79. Purity of heart and clarity of thought
Previous: 2.77. The brothers lament
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 