jaisriramramo.

  RAMAYANA The King bade Sumantra let the prince in. Raama came and bowed to the King from a distance. As soon as he saw Raama, the King suddenly rose and rushed without-- stretched arms  to embrace him. but dropped in a swoon before reaching his son.  Raama and Lakshmana tenderly lifted him up and put him on the couch."My Lord, "  said Raama "we have come to seek your leave  to go to the forest. Vaidehi and Lakshmana too are going with me in spite of all I could do to make them desist. Pray give us your benedictions and leave to depart." Dasaradha then said "Raama, I am bound by the boons that I have given to Kaikeyi. But you are not so bound. Why do you not brush me aside and seize the Kingdom by force? That had long been in King's mind as the best and only solution of the cruel problem and came out now clearly in words. But Raama said: I have no desire for kingdom or power, father.May you reign for a thousand years more. My heart is now set on going to t...

RAMAYANA In the streets and on the  balconies were crowds of people looking on. Through the windows and from the terraces of mansions, men and women saw Raama and Lakshmana and the princes proceeding on foot, like the poorest in the land.  Filled with boundless grief and indignation., the people said to one another: " What kind of a King is this who sends so noble a prince to the forest ? And there Seetha walks, a princess that should command the service of the royal chariot. Can she bear the heat and the rain of the forest? This is monstrous! We shall go then the forest too Let us gather up all we have and get away to the forest with these princes. The forest where Raama dwells shall  be our Ayodhya. "Let these houses here henceforth deserted be, infested with snakes and rats.  Let Kaikeyi rule over the ruins of Ayodhya.  Wild beasts and vultures of the forest will come to stay here. This will become a forest, and the forest will become Ayodhya. Raama heard peo...

  RAMAYANA Seeta's eyes filled with tears, " Tigers, Lions, bears, Snakes,--none of them will come near me. They will flee from us at the sight of you. The Sun, rain, wind and hunger and the spikes and thorny shrubs you speak  of--I shall endure them all cheerfully. I am not in the least afraid, and on the other hand you may be certain life will depart from this body if you leave me here and go. "When I was in Mithila," she said, " the Brahmanas and astrologers told my mother that I was destined to live in the forest for a while.  Can I fulfill this prediction alone in the forest ? Here is the opportunity for me to fulfill it in your company which will make the forest  a garden of delight. For whom is forest life unpleasant? Only to those men and women  who have not controlled their senses.  You and I can be masters of our senses and miss nothing. I implore you, put me not away from you, for parting from you is more cruel than death." There is a strength...

  RAMAYANA A fine speech you have made. O Knower of Dharma. It is to me a strange doctrine that a wife is diverse from her husband  and that is his duty not hers, and that she has no right to share in it. I can never accept it.  I hold that your fortunes are mine,  and if Raama has to go the forest, the  command includes Seeta also, who is a part of him. I shall walk in front of you in the forest ways and tread the thorns and the hard ground to make them smooth for your feet.  Do not think me obstinate.  My father and mother have instructed me in dharma. What you tell is totally opposed to what they have taught me.  To go with you where ever you go --that is my only course.  If you must go to the forest today, then today I go with you. There is no room here for any discussions.  Do not think that I cannot bear forest life .  With you by my side it will be a joyous holiday. I shall not be a source of trouble to you .  I shall ea...

  RAMAYANA " Something    troubles the mind of my lord," thought Seeta, "but what can anything matter so long as there is our love?" And she asked him: "What is the matter? Why do you look so strangely?" Raama told the story briefly and then added: "Princess, my love, I can well imagine your sorrow at having to part from me and stay here.  Janaka's daughter requires not my guidance to her duty .  Be thoughtful of the comfort of the King and the three Queens --your mothers.  Do not expect any better treatment than that given to the other princesses in the palace.  Be respectful to Bharata who will be Ruler and guard against any offence to his feelings. Your love for me, I trust, will not grow any less during this absence.  I shall return from forest after these fourteen years. Till then do not neglect customary rites and ceremonies. Mother Kausalya in her sorrow will need your attentive care. Bharata and Satrughna are dear to me. You will look upon...

  RAMAYANA What took place in the inner apartments of the palace was not yet known to the town-people. But Raama for his part lost no time in preparing for forest life.  He went to Queen Kousalya to receive her blessings before leaving the city. Kausalya said to him again. "How can I stay in Ayodhya after you are gone? It is best that I go with you to the forest." Of course, she knew that her duty was to serve her husband in his old age and share his sorrow in Ayodhya.  And yet her mind was now so confused by grief that she did not see things clearly.  But Raama would now hear of  it and put her in mind of her duty to be with the heart- stricken  old king in his sad solitude.  She recognised the justice of this counsel. She gave him her benedictions in sweet words "diluted with the salt of broken tears. ""Rama put heart in her with a smile saying : " The fourteen years will pass quickly and you will see me back." The poet says that, as Raama received ...

  RAMAYANA This explanation calmed Lakshmana for a while. But soon his anger boiled up again. He said: "Very well, then. This is the work of fate.  Fate, I grant, is the cause of our step-mother's sudden folly. And I am not angry.with her .  But are we , on that account, to sit still and do nothing? It is Kshatriya dharma to overcome evil and establish justice.  A hero does not bow down before the fate. Having announced Raaama's coronation by beat of drum to the town and country, the treacherous King invokes some old forgotten boon and orders you to go to the forest. Is it manly to call this fate and obey it meekly? Only cowards go down under fate. Heroes should oppose and vanquish it. I am no weakling to yield to fate. You will see today the might of a hero matched against fate. I shall tame the mad elephant fate and make it serve me. I shall banish to the forest those who conspired to banish you.  If you wish to visit the forest for a change, you can do so lat...

  RAMAYANA Let us resolve firmly to change this sorrows into joy. That would be a proof of our nobility and courage, Lakshmana. With the blessings of my mothers and elders. I shall go to the forest. Bring here the water. the water from the Ganga for the Coronation.  I shall use it for ablution before departing for the forest. No, no, that water belongs to the State and is intended for the coronation.  How can we tough it.? We shall go to holy Ganga ourselves and fetch the water for my ablution.  Brother , be not sad thinking of kingdom or wealth, life in the forest  will be my highest joy."  So Raama revealed to his brother his inmost thoughts. In these passages Vaalmeeki uses the word daiva. In Sanskrit literature, daivam means fate. Daivam, dishtam,bhaagyam, niyati and vidhi are all words conveying the idea of something unexpected and inexplicable.  Because of the belief in God as the Prime Cause, a natural confusion arises between fate and God's wil...

RAMAYANA He gave us the life that we hold and we should give him peace of mind. He is afraid  about the other world. We should free him from this fear.  So far, we have never given him cause for sorrow or dissatisfaction. Now we have become the cause of a great fear in his mind about what is to be happen to him in the other world. We can easily relieve him. Instead of doing this , are we to add to his troubles? For this reason my mind has altogether turned away from the coronation and is intent on the journey to the forest.  "My sole desire now is to go to the forest and see that Bharata is crowned.  This would please me best. If I delay, Kaikeyi will grow suspicious.  Hence I should go to the forest this very day and bring peace to her mind. Rid of the fear of the sin of breaking a promise and assured of my willing and cheerful acceptance of his command, our father will be happy.  "And we should not be angry with Kaikeyi either. Has she not been kind to us...

RAMAYANA " It is my duty to fulfill  my father's word.  It is all the same to me, whether it is just or un just, spontaneous or extorted by force or fraud.  If I fail in this primary duty, I can gain no satisfaction or good name through any amount of wealth or power. Lakshmana, your proposals are quite wrong. I know your great strength and I have no doubt that you can vanquish and destroy all opponents and secure for me the kingdom . I know also your affection for me.  "But the way in which you propose to use it is not worthy of the dynasty to which we belong.  Our highest duty is to fulfill our father's word. If we fail in that, no other achievement can make up for it." Raama tried to console both his mother and his brother, but Lakshmana's anger could not be easily put down. Perhaps it could have been, if he himself --not Raama--were the sufferer.  But it was Raama who was the victim of this cruel injustice. And so Lakshmana writhed in anger like a wounde...