344. Rama informed of the killing of Seetha.

            Let us go sometime backwards. The fight between the vanara army led by Hanuman and that of Intrajit was unusually more tumultuous. Hearing that Rama, who was resting became curious and asked Jambavan "Jam! From the way in which we hear the tone of the noise, it seems that our chaps are having difficult time. Therefore, accompanied by your own force, go quickly to help our army."

        Jambavan, along with his army, rushed to the battle ground. On the way Jambavan saw Hanuman, returning with the vanaras, wearing a sad face. Janbavan asked Hanuman with a question mark on his face.

         Hanuman told him how that cruel rakshash Intrajit killed Seetha in an horrible manner. He was, therefore, returning with the army to report that vicious act to Rama.

        Rama then was nonplussed to hear the news about killing of Seetha by Intrajit. The grief made him fall down on the ground, like a tree with its bottom chopped off.

        Lakshmana took the ailing Rama in his arms and comforted or rather tried to, with "O venerable brother! Virtue alone cannot save you, who is sticking to the noble path and who has subdued the senses, from adversities. Like inanimate and animate beings are visible, virtue and vice are not visible. Therefore, my opinion is that virtue is non-existent. Otherwise a virtuous man like you would not have this misfortune.

      "If unrighteousness had been effective, Ravana should have had the repercussion of the same long back. You, endowed with virtue, should never get into any trouble. Since there is absence of calamity for Ravana and misfortune occurred to you, the result of vice is obtained through virtue and the result of virtue is obtained through vice. The contraries of each other have changed the roles with each other.

          "It seems that now the fruit of virtue be obtained through vice and the fruit of vice through virtue.

         "O my dear bro Rama! It is abundantly clear now that righteousness is dead and gone. Otherwise no evil, whatsoever would have accrued to you. As you garnered such a calamity, the hypotheses that the destiny engendered by virtuous acts is real is not tenable any longer.

              "Or else, if righteousness becomes weak and cowardly, as it surrenders to the might, it is my opinion that the righteousness, which lacks strength and has been deprived of its capacity, should no longer be pursued. Depend on might, as you do now on virtue, if the virtue is subordinate to might, thus giving up the predominance for virtue. O tormentator of enemies! Or else, if speaking truth were indeed a virtue, our lying father, who was merciless to you, was disunited from you. Were you not bound by that announcement made by our father regarding your installation as the Prince Regent?

              "My opinion is that righteousness consists in such recourse to both virtue and strength. The very roots of virtue (in the form of earthly gain) have been chopped off by you in that you spurned the sovereignty the other day. By the treasures brought from place to place and augmented by means of various strategies, all the tasks are indeed fulfilled, as the rivers flow from the mountains. All the tasks of a man of small intellect, bereft of his wealth, get a cessation as small rivers dry up in summer-season.........."
              Lakshmana went on on this line to assuage Rama. Then he concluded "O my valiant brother! you have been heaped with more and more  miseries from the time you were deprived of your coronation. O my dear brother! Enough of you restraint. Today I gonna start dispelling all your agonies. Please allow me to completely destroy Lanka with its chariots, elephants, horses along with Ravana, his cruel son Intrajit and all the other rakshashas."

Sarga 83

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