Hari Om.
Let us begin the seventy ninth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
King daSaratha merged with the elements. The royal family was in deep mourning. So was the city of ayOdhyA unable to come to terms with the rapid and dramatic departure of a benevolent king. The twin blows of rAma’s banishment and father’s sudden departure from the world was too much to bear for prince bharata and Satrughna. Prince Satrughna rued the fact that the king neither restrained himself nor was restrained by prince lakshmaNa from this unrighteous act. As he rued thus, the well decked hunchback appeared at the threshold. Flying into a rage, prince Satrughna caught hold of her and dragged her on the floor to punish her for suggesting such a catastrophic thing to queen kaikEyI who was also incurred the verbal wrath of Satrughna. The attendants of the now promoted hunchback, ran helter skelter thinking even they won’t be spared! It was only upon the self restrained prince bharata’s intervention that Satrughna let go of the wily manthara, only for the fear of incurring rAma’s rebuke for harming a woman! In all, the episode showed the sombre mood in the palace and the desperation to do something about it! Onwards…
On the fourteenth day after the cremation of king daSaratha, the council of ministers met bharata and requested him to be anointed as the king of ayOdhyA as the kingdom was leaderless and rAma was away in the forest. The importance of having a king was also underscored for without a king the city could be under siege from enemy quarters. All the paraphernalia and the people needed for the consecration had arrived. So prince bharata was requested to swiftly permit his own crowning.
The bharata of firm vows, respectfully circumambulated the vessels of water from various rivers brought for his consecration and said –
“In our kingdom, it is always the eldest who is anointed as the king. It doesn’t befit wise people such as yourselves to propose my consecration. Our eldest brother rAma shall reign over ayOdhyA and I shall live in the forest for fourteen years. Please arrange for a mighty army comprising of the four fold forces. We shall go and bring rAma from the forest with due ceremony. In fact, let us go there with all this paraphernalia needed for the crowning. Let us consecrate rAma as the king in the forest itself and I shall bring him back to ayOdhyA just as the fire is carried from the sacrificial altar. There is no way I shall let my so called mother succeed in her schemes. My elder brother rAma shall be the king and I shall live in the treacherous forests.
Let the workers who lay the roads by leveling unleveled terrains and the surveyors be all dispatched at once to make the way pliable to bring back rAma”.
As he prince bharata spoke his mind thus in favour of the valiant rAma, the citizens assembled there hailed him in glorious tones. They said –
“Glory be to you O prince bharata, may goddess lakshmi grace you ever for this great decision of giving the earth right back to the eldest”. The council of ministers, tributary kings and citizens and everyone else assembled there were thrilled beyond imagination at this declaration of prince bharata. Uncontrollable tears of joy ran down their cheeks without restrain. At once, the ministers appointed the workers for laying of the highway leading to the forests to bring back the glorious eldest son of king daSaratha and anoint him the king.
Here we conclude the seventy ninth 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: 2.80. Laying the royal road to rAma!
Previous: 2.78. Satrughna is livid as well
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 