Tuesday 7 May 2013

48. Say not the struggle not availeth.

             Lakshmana could not bear the sight of the utter grief and the misery of the Queen Kausalya.   He cried in fury  "Oh, Ma!  I do not at all like Rama agreeing to to go to the forest, leaving this his rightful kingdom, on the words of Kaikeyi.  The king has become perverted due to old age, and thereby seems to have outraged by sensual enjoyments and possessed of an intense passion can, prompted by Kaikeyi, talk any thing.  I cannot see any offence or cause for blame or for any other reason for which Rama can be expelled from the state.  I have not seen or even heard any person, whether an enemy or an expelled,  speaking ill of Rama, even indirectly.  Can any ethical person with a sound mind would, without any reasonable cause, get rid of a son who is equal to god, honest, self-restrained and is affectionate even towards adversaries?  Which son, knowing royal usage, can agree to the words of this king who is behaving as an imbecile or a recalcitrant child?" 
       Then looking at Rama he continued  "Even before others get to know about this matter, make this kingdom your own.  I am here to help you, even by giving up my life, if necessary.  Oh, brother! While I am standing by your side  armed with this bow, looking like Yama, the God of Death to our enemies, protecting you, who will have moral or physical courage to have an encounter with me or is capable of exhibiting greater valour?  If the city of Ayodhya turns against you, I shall make it desolate of men with sharp arrows.  I shall kill all those who are siding Bharata, and are favorable to him.   If our father with a senile mind behaves like our enemy with instigation by Kaikeyi, I shall keep him imprisoned without any personal attachment or if necessary, kill him.  Even a venerable person is to be punished, if he becomes arrogant, if he does not know good and evil actions and if he takes to a wrong route.  On what strength or reason he has to give away this kingdom which rightfully  belongs to you to Kaikeyi?   Where is the power or authority for him to give the kingdom to Bharata? Oh! My brother Rama!  I am swearing an oath to you by truth, by my bow, by the act of giving and by the act of sacrifice.   Oh, queen!  If Rama enters a blazing fire, you certainly will see me as having already entered the same.  I shall alleviate your grief, by showing my valour like the rising sun alleviates darkness.  Let Rama and yourself see my valour."
         The words of Lakshmana made Kausalya more anguish and she told Rama weepingly  "Oh, son! Did you hear the words of Lakshmana?   Agree to what he suggests, immediately.  It is not proper for you to go away from here, leaving me afflicted with grief, after hearing the unjust words spoken by my co-wife.  Oh, Rama! You are a righteous man.  If you desire to practise virtue, be a virtuous man and stay here serving me, thereby practising the best morality in the form of serving your mother.  Don't you know that Kasyapa was staying in his own house itself with self restraint, performed great austerity by serving his mother and went to heaven?  Just as the king, by respectable feeling to you is worthy of worship, so also being your mother, I am worthy of worship by you.  Hence, do not go to the forest.  Without you, I have no use of this life or the comforts.  Oh, son! If I fast myself to death for your sake, you will attain the universally infamous hell, like the god of the ocean obtaining trouble because of his unrighteous behaviour, towards the sage called Pippalada, resulting in the latter's wrath."
         Rama then told his mother kindly "Maa! I just could not violate my father's wish.  I am bowing my head and asking your favour.  I shall have to go to the forest.  A sage called Kandu, who knew righteousness, who performed religious vows and who was a learned man, killed even a cow, acting as per his father's words.  Previously, the sons of Sagara belonging to our race, were bitterly digging up the earth, as commanded by their father.  Parasurama, the son of Jamadagni slayed his mother Renuka with an axe as per his father's words.  Oh, mother! These and many others who were equivalent to gods, did not make their father's words go waste.  I also shall do what is desired by my father.  Oh, mother! I am not the only person to act according to one's father's wishes.  Those I have mentioned to you hitherto also complied with their father's desire.  I am definitely not setting any new contradictory and undesirable precedence for your sake.   I am adhering to the way intended and followed by the ancient.  I cannot do otherwise than acting in accordance with my father's wish, the prevalent practice on earth.  There is no deprivation indeed for anyone who complies with his father's commands or wishes."
          Rama, then turned to Lakshmana and told him "Oh, Lakshmana!  I know your highest affection towards me, your heroic valour, your strength and your unassailable splendour.  My mother is feeling a great and unequalled sorrow, by not remembering the secret of truth and tranquility.   Righteousness is the best of all the qualities in the world.  Truth is established in righteousness.  One who follows righteousness, does not waste his promise given to one's father or mother or a Brahmana.  I cannot transgress my father's command or wish.  On the word given by my father only,  Kaikeyi told me to go to the forest.  Hence, leave this mean mentality of military heroism.  Observe righteousness and not rudeness.  Follow my resolution (of carrying out the royal and paternal command)."
        Rama then patted  his brother on the shoulder affectionately, bowed to his mother and with folded hands, spoke again to Kausalya  "Oh, mother! I have decided to go to the forest.  Please give me permission.  I am swearing to you on my life.  Please bless me.  As the sage king Yayati in olden times left the heaven and got back to the heaven again, I shall be back to the city from the forest, after fulfilling my promise.  Oh, mother!  Please do not grieve.  Bear it well in your heart.  I shall come back here again from the forest after fulfilling the father's command.   Seetha, Lakshmana, Sumintra, you and I should follow father's directions.  This is an eternal custom.  Oh mother! Please approve my righteous intention of going to the forest, duly withdrawing preparations for my coronation and keeping in check the sorrow in your heart."
       Kausalya heard the most virtuous, cool and steady words of Rama and rose, as though regained life once more after death, looked at Rama and spoke to him "Oh, son! I am also as respectable a person as your father, in my own right.  I do not give permission to you.  You cannot thus go away, leaving me in great sorrow.  What is the use of my living in this world without you?  What is the use of the other world or the oblation of food offered to the deceased ancestors or the nectar of immortality?  Your proximity even for a moment is better than that of the entire world of living beings."
       After hearing the pathetic lamentation of his mother, Rama was highly anguished, as a lordly elephant when removed from its way by men with flames of fire.  Rama, who was established in righteousness said  "Oh, Lakshmana!  I always know your devotion towards me as well as your strength.  But now, you are joining with mother in afflicting much trouble to me without looking at my point of view.   Oh, Lakshmana!  In obtaining the fruit of good works in the world, righteousness, utility and free will are given the top importance.   Only Good work will yield a wife the things like obedient and beloved wife with good sons she wants to be.   Only such an action, which is righteous (alone) is to be undertaken, abstaining that in which wealth, desire and righteousness do not find any scope altogether.  One who is interested in wealth alone becomes indeed fit to be hated in the world.   So also the one whose very essence is desire, cannot indeed be considered as good.  When father, who is venerable, a king and very aged, commands an action either by anger or by extreme joy or by even desire, which right person would refuse to perform it?  Only a person who chooses to be cruel will disregard it.  I cannot avoid fulfilling father's command.  For both of us, he is an important person and has every right to command us.  To mother Kausalya also, he is the husband, the resource person and the personified law.  While the righteous king Dasharatha is alive and especially when he is following his own righteous path, how mother Kausalya can go out with me from here leaving the city like any other widowed woman?  Oh, Ma! Permit me to go to the forest.   As Yayati returned to heaven by the power of truth, give me your power of blessings so that I can return here after completion of the exile.  I cannot keep back reputation and glory for the sake of kingdom. Through unrighteousness today, I am not going to accept in any case the trivial ruler-ship of the earth, the life being of a short duration."
      Rama decided to go to the Dandaka forest fearlessly with his prowess, consoled his mother, taught Lakshmana, his younger brother his own thinking about morality and heartily moved clockwise round his mother  
       Rama then approached his affectionate brother Lakshmana who was distressed with agony and was very much angry like an hissing king cobra, with his eyes dilated with wrath.   He held his brother Lakshmana by his shoulders and told "Hold back grief and anger.  Forget this insult, by taking refuge in courage alone.  Be cheerful, always!  Abandon all these arrangements made today for my coronation and immediately take up action that is faultless.  Show the same zeal now in terminating my coronation as shown earlier in its preparations.  Mother Kaikeyi may still have some pangs about the question of my coronation. Behave in such a way that no apprehension comes to her mind on this matter.  Oh, Lakshmana! I do not wish to disregard any such painful doubt lingering in her mind even for a moment.  I do not remember to have done even a small disagreeable thing here at any time to any of my mothers or to my father, even unintentionally.  Let the promise made by my father, who is truthful, truly mighty and afraid of the fear of the other world, become true.  Let him be free from any such apprehension.  His distress will cause  me pain.  Oh, Lakshmana! For that reason, I wish to go to the forest immediately, withdrawing from these coronation arrangements.  Soon after my departure to the forest, mother Kaikeyi, with a sense of achievement will have her son's coronation.   After my leaving for the forest, wearing deer skin, rags and with my hair twisted together, etc.  Kaikeyi will have an absolute mental peace.  I do not want to create trouble to my father, who has taken this hard decision.  Hence, I will go to the forest at once.  Oh, Lakshmana!  Look at it as destiny which has taken back the kingdom offered to me and is sending me to exile.  If it is not the destiny which has created such a thought in the mind of Kaikeyi, how come she resolved to harass me?  You know that I have no discrimination between my own mother and Kaikeyi;  also had and still have no discrimination between myself and her son Bharata.   I do not perceive any reason other than fate that made Kaikeyi to cancel my coronation, to send me to exile, and to speak very harsh words, not to be talked about or even to think about.  If it is not God's will, then how Kaikeyi who is of a perfect temperament and who is born in a highly reputed royal family can speak like a common woman to her husband to create trouble for me?  The influence of destiny is fathomless.   No living being can counteract its influence.  An adverse fate has befallen on me and on her.  It is quite clear now.  Oh, Lakshmana! There is no means whatsoever to abstain from it otherwise than to follow the course of destiny.  Who will be able to fight against the destiny?
        "Pleasure and pain, fear and anger, gain and loss, birth and death and such other things are all the acts of destiny.  Even sages, who performed severe penance, having been harassed by destiny leave aside restraint and got ruined by lust and anger.  It is indeed an act of destiny which suddenly and unimaginably obstructs an action, undertaken in the world, at the starting point itself.   Although my coronation is obstructed, I have no grief since I have restrained the self  by myself with real consciousness.  Hence, you also, like me, get the arrangements for the coronation withdrawn immediately without any anguish.  Let all these very pots of water arranged for the coronation be used by me for my bath after completing the religious vow of asceticism.  Otherwise, why to me this water in these pots which is the royal property?  The water drawn out by myself, will be used for my bath after completing the religious vow.  Do not repent about this perverseness of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.  When you talk of kingdom or dwelling in the forest, the latter, in my opinion will be more superior, under the present circumstances. 
      "Oh, Lakshmana! Do not curse our mother Kaikeyi for obstructing my coronation ceremony.  She is doing this under the influence of the destiny.  Surely you are aware of this destiny, which has such an unfailing power."
        Lakshmana  could not bring himself to agree with Rama.  He told Rama with tears in his eyes "You are telling all these with a view to veil the great suspicion in the minds of people.  Can such a person like you, who can surmount the destiny,  speak thus of the ineffectual destiny?  Why are you speaking about this weak and pitiable destiny?  Why are you not doubting the sinful Kaikeyi and Dasharatha?   Don't you know that both of them are smoothly deceiving in the name of righteousness with an intent to keep away your good conduct, with selfish motive and by dishonest means.  Oh, My dear brother!  If it was not indeed an earlier decision taken long ago by both of them, the boon must have been given naturally even long ago.  Enthroning any one other than you will not be liked by the people.  I cannot tolerate this cunning act that is enacted.  Excuse me in this matter.  I do not at all like this righteousness by which your intellect got disunited and by which indulgence, you are stupefied.  You are very capable to retaliate.  How can you act on the reprehensible word which is unjustified of your father who is surrendering obediently to the will of Kaikeyi?  Though they are doing this treachery with a sinful intent, I regret that you are not grasping it.  Such a conduct is to be censured.  Both of them, acting on their own free evil-will, never cared your welfare.  They are enemies in the name of parents.  It is not proper even to think of fulfilling their desire.  I do not agree to your opinion that their action is influenced by mere destiny.  Only a confused and cowardly person surrenders to destiny.  Brave men with self-respect, like you do not honour the destiny of this nature.
      "That person who is capable of keeping off destiny by his skillful efforts, does not have a regret in the sense of not being failed by destiny.  Today, all can see how much prowess is there in destiny and in man.  This day, the distinction between man and the destiny will be clearly perceived.  By which destiny, your coronation is seen crushed, I shall crush that destiny by my prowess as a warrior.  Let all people see it!  By my prowess, I shall turn back this destiny, as framing back an elephant which is not caring a hook and which is fiercely running with violent force.  Neither all the guardians of this world nor the three worlds put together can withhold my brother Rama's coronation today.  Why then to talk about father?  Those who are secretly advocating your living in a forest for fourteen years, will have to reside in the forest themselves for fourteen years in that manner.
        "That is why, I shall bring to naught the hope of father and of Kaikeyi, which is directed towards the kingdom to her son by creating obstacles for your coronation.  The strength of destiny cannot create that much pain as that which my terrific prowess will create to those who are opposed to my strength.  At the end of some thousand years of your ruling the kingdom, you having gone to the forest, your sons will govern the kingdom.  It is the natural practice for ancient kings to go to the forest when they committed the people to the care of their sons,  for being protected as their children.  If you think that you do not want the kingdom because of your doubt that the kingdom will get disturbed due to the unstable mind of the king Dasharatha, you need not fear.  I solemnly promise you that I shall protect the kingdom as a sea coast protects the sea.  If not, I will not obtain the heroic world of heaven.  You become engaged in getting  Coroneted with auspicious things.  I for one is competent to ward off the kings by force.  My arms are not meant for handsomeness alone.  Bow is not a decoration.  Sword is not for tying around one's waist.  Arrows are not for staying immobile.  All these four are intended for subduing enemies.  I do not wish to tolerate too much the one who is considered as an enemy to me.  By wearing a sword with sharp edges which is moving bright like lightening, I do not care any enemy, even be he Indra.  This earth will be rendered impassable with heads, hands and thighs of elephants, horses and men crushed, having been hit by my sword.  Now, my enemies will fall down on earth, being hit by my sword, like mountains in blaze, like clouds charged with flashes of lightening.   As I stand holding a bow with fingers wound with shields made of alligator skin, how any man can fancy himself a hero among men?  While I overpower one with many arrows and many with a single arrow, I pierce my arrows at the vitals of men, horses and elephants.  Oh, Lord! Today, the strength of my excellent arrows is capable of making you the sovereign and making Dasharatha devoid of power.  Oh, Lord Rama! Today the effect of my weapons will remove the power from the king Dasharatha and give the lordship to you.  Oh, Rama! These arms of mine are not only worthy of wearing sandalwood essence and bracelets but also for bestowing riches and for protection of friends.  It can today do every action to prevent the agents who want to obstruct your coronation.  Tell me now itself which enemy of yours is to be made deprived of life, honour and friendship, by me.  Command me!  This earth will become your dominion.  I am your servant."
      Then, Rama looked at Lakshmana kindly, consoling him by wiping off his tears and told him "Oh, Lakshmana!  I stand by the words of our father. This indeed is the right path which alone I will follow.  No further arguments or discussions in this regard."
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