The Valmiki Ramayana

by Amish Tripathi

  Chapter 2(95)

  Hearing Rama’s words, Bharata replied, ‘How can someone like me violate the canons of dharma and perform the dharma of kings? O bull among men! The eternal dharma has always been followed by us. O king! As long as an elder son is present, the younger can never be a king. O Raghava! Therefore, with me, go to prosperous Ayodhya. For the lineage and for our sake, crown yourself. A king is said to be a man. However, if his conduct is in conformity with dharma and artha, he is said to be superhuman. For me, such a person is revered like a divinity. While I was in Kekaya and while you resorted to the forest, the king who performed sacrifices379 and was revered by the virtuous has gone to heaven. O tiger among men! Arise and perform the water rites for our father. I and Shatrughna have already performed the water rites earlier. O Raghava! In the world of the ancestors, it has been said that what is given by the beloved becomes inexhaustible and you are our father’s beloved.’

  Hearing those piteous words uttered by Bharata, conveying news about the death of his father, Raghava lost his senses. The disagreeable words spoken by Bharata were like words with a vajra in them. Rama, scorcher of enemies, stretched out his arms and fell down on the ground, like a tree with blossoms at the top, when it is severed by an axe in the forest. Rama, the lord of the universe, fell down in this way, like an exhausted elephant sleeping on a bank that has now been washed away. His brothers, great archers, were afflicted by grief and surrounded him from all sides, weeping. So did Vaidehi and they sprinkled him with water. When he regained consciousness, tears began to flow from Kakutstha’s eyes and he spoke many piteous words of lamentation. ‘My birth is in vain. What task can I perform for the great-souled one? He has died on account of sorrow over me and I have been unable to perform the last rites for him. Alas! O Bharata! O unblemished one! Since you and Shatrughna have been able to perform all the funeral rites, you are indeed successful. Without its leader and without that Indra among men, Ayodhya is in a deranged state. When the period of exile in the forest is over, I am not interested in returning there. O scorcher of enemies! Since our father has gone to the other world, when the period of exile in the forest is over, who will instruct me in Ayodhya? In earlier times, on witnessing my good conduct, my father used to comfort me and address me in words that were pleasant to hear. Where will I hear such words now?’ Having addressed Bharata in this way, Raghava sought out his wife, whose face was like the full moon. Tormented with grief, he spoke to her. ‘O Sita! Your father-in-law is dead. O Lakshmana! You are without a father. Bharata has brought the sorrowful tiding that the lord of the earth has gone to heaven.’ Rama comforted Janaka’s daughter, who was weeping.

  Lakshmana was miserable and he addressed him in these words of grief. ‘Bring the pulp of an inguda tree. Bring bark for an upper garment. I will go and perform the water rites for our great-souled father. Let Sita walk in front. Follow her at the rear. I will follow thereafter in this extremely terrible procession.’ The immensely intelligent Sumantra was always devoted to them and knew about the soul. He was firm in his devotion to the mild, self-controlled and composed Rama. He comforted Raghava and holding him by the hand, made him descend into the auspicious river Mandakinee. With blossoming trees, river Mandakinee was always beautiful. Faced with the catastrophe, the illustrious one reached this excellent tirtha.380 This auspicious tirtha was free of mud and the waters flowed fast. He381 said, ‘O king! Accept this water that is being offered to you.’ The lord of the earth cupped his hands and filled them with water. He faced the southern direction and weeping, spoke these words. ‘O tiger among kings! This sparkling water is eternal. As soon as I offer it to you, may it reach you in the world of the ancestors.’ Ascending the banks of the Mandakinee again, the energetic Raghava, with his brothers, offered funeral cakes to their father. The pulp of inguda and badari were mixed and laid out on darbha grass by Rama. Grieving and weeping, he spoke these words. ‘O great king! Be pleased and eat this. This is what we also eat. What is food for a man is also food for the gods.’382 Following the same path, the tiger among men then ascended from the banks of the river and reached the beautiful summit of the mountain.

  The lord of the universe reached the cottage made out of leaves. He embraced Bharata and Lakshmana in his arms. The sounds of the brothers and Vaidehi weeping could be heard and echoed in the mountain, like the roaring of lions. Hearing this tumultuous sound, Bharata’s soldiers were alarmed. They said, ‘It is certain that Bharata has met Rama and this great sound is because they are sorrowing over their dead father.’ All of them abandoned their camps and headed in the direction of the sound. Their single intention was to rush towards the spot. Some men went on horses. Some went on elephants. Some went on ornamented chariots. Those who were young proceeded on foot. All the people suddenly rushed towards the hermitage, desiring to see Rama. Though he had been away only for a short period, it was as if he had been away for a long period of time. They rushed, eager to witness the meeting of the brothers. They resorted to different kinds of mounts and vehicles, with hooves and with wheels. As the earth was struck by many different kinds of vehicles, with hooves and axles, a tumultuous sound arose, like clouds dashing against each other in the sky. There were male elephants surrounded by female elephants383 and they were terrified at this. Releasing the scent of their musth, they left for another forest. Large numbers of boars, wolves, lions, buffaloes, bears, apes, tigers, gokarnas, gavayas and spotted deer were frightened.384 Red ducks, waterfowl, swans, karandas,385 herons, male cuckoos and curlews lost their senses and fled in different directions. The sky was filled with birds frightened by the sound. The earth was filled with men and both looked beautiful at the time.

  The men had tears in their eyes and were extremely miserable. On seeing them, the one who knew about dharma386 embraced them, like their own father and mother. He embraced some of the men. Some other men worshipped him. The son of the king met them all, including his friends and relatives and treated each one according to what was deserved. The sounds of the great-souled ones weeping filled the earth and the sky and the sound echoed in the mountain caverns and all the directions, as if the beating of drums could be heard.

  Chapter 2(96)

  Vasishtha placed Dasharatha’s wives at the forefront and desiring to see Rama, approached the spot. The king’s wives gently approached Mandakinee and saw the tirtha frequented by Rama and Lakshmana. Kousalya’s eyes were full of tears and her mouth was dry. Distressed, she spoke to Sumitra and the other royal women. ‘The performers of unblemished deeds have been banished from the kingdom and this is the tirtha towards the east of the forest that those unfortunate ones, deprived of protectors, frequent. O Sumitra! This is the spot from where, without any distraction, Soumitri, your son, himself draws water for my son.’ On the ground, laid out on darbha grass, the large-eyed one saw the pulp of inguda offered to his father, with the tip pointing to the south. She saw what the unfortunate Rama had laid out on the ground for his father. On seeing this, Queen Kousalya spoke to all of Dasharatha’s women. ‘Look at this. Following the prescribed rites, Raghava387 has offered this to his great-souled father, Raghava,388 the protector of the lineage of the Ikshvakus. The great-souled king was the equal of a god. Given the objects of pleasure that he enjoyed, I do not think that this is appropriate food. On earth, he was the equal of the great Indra and was the lord of the earth, ruling over the four quarters of the earth. How can he eat this pulp of inguda? I cannot see a greater misery in this world than that the prosperous Rama has to offer a pulp of inguda to his father. I have seen the pulp of inguda that Rama has offered to his father. At the misery of this, why does my heart not shatter into one thousand fragments?’

  She was afflicted and her co-wives comforted her. They went and saw Rama in his hermitage, like an immortal who has been dislodged from heaven. On seeing that Rama had given up all the objects of pleasure, his mothers were afflicted. Afflicted by grief, they shed tears and lamented loudly. Rama, tiger among men and devoted to the truth, arose
and seized the auspicious feet of all his mothers. Those large-eyed ones used their hands, pleasant to the touch, and their gentle and auspicious fingers and palms to wipe the dust off Rama’s back. On seeing that all the mothers were miserable, immediately after Rama, Soumitri gently worshipped all the mothers. Lakshmana was born from Dasharatha and bore the auspicious signs. All the women acted towards him just as they had acted towards Rama. Miserable and with tears in her eyes, Sita also seized the feet of her mothers-in-law and stood before them. She was afflicted by grief and lean from residing in the forest. Kousalya embraced the miserable one, like a mother does to a daughter, and spoke these words. ‘This is the daughter of the king of Videha. This is Dasharatha’s daughter-in-law. This is Rama’s wife. What misery has led to her being in this desolate forest? O Vaidehi! I can see your face. It is like a lotus scorched by the heat. It is like a water lily that has faded. It is like gold defiled by dust. It is like the moon shrouded in clouds. The grief is tormenting my mind like a fire and it is as if the hardship has acted like kindling that generates the fire.’

  While the miserable mothers were speaking in this way, Raghava, Bharata’s elder brother, approached Vasishtha and seized his feet. Extremely great in his energy, the priest was Agni’s equal. Raghava, the lord of men, seized his feet, like Indra does to Brihaspati, and sat down beside him. After they were seated, Bharata, who knew about dharma and followed dharma, approached and sat down below his elder brother, with the advisers, the foremost citizens, the soldiers and other people. The valiant Raghava was seated in the garb of an ascetic and blazed in his prosperity. On seeing him, Bharata joined his hands in salutation, like the great Indra bowing down before Prajapati.389 After having worshipped and honoured him, what virtuous words would Bharata speak to Raghava? All the noble people were supremely curious to know the truth about this. Raghava was devoted to the truth, Lakshmana was extremely generous and Bharata was devoted to dharma. Surrounded by their well-wishers, these three were like the three fires surrounded by assistant priests.390

  Chapter 2(97)

  Rama comforted his brother, who was devoted to his seniors. With Lakshmana, he questioned his brother. ‘I wish to hear the reason behind your coming to this place, with matted hair and attired in bark and antelope skin. Why have you come to this region, with black antelope skin and matted hair? Why have you abandoned the kingdom? You should tell me everything.’

  When the great-souled Kakutstha addressed him in this way, Kaikeyi’s son forcibly controlled his sorrow. He joined his hands in salutation and said, ‘O noble one! Father abandoned you and performed an extremely difficult deed. Overcome by sorrow on account of his son, the mighty-armed one went to heaven. O scorcher of enemies! He was urged by a woman, my mother, Kaikeyee. She performed an extremely wicked act that brought her ill fame. Desiring the fruit of the kingdom, she has become a widow and is afflicted by grief. My mother will descend into an extremely terrible hell. Though I am her son, I am your servant and you should show me your favours. Like Maghavan,391 consecrate yourself in the kingdom today. These ordinary people and all the widowed mothers have come before you. You should show them your favours. O one who grants honours! Following the norm of progression392 and dharma, you yourself are the one who should be united with the kingdom. Satisfy the desires of your well-wishers. Like the autumn sky when there is a sparkling moon, this entire widowed earth will obtain you as a husband. With these advisers, I am bowing my head down and beseeching you. I am your brother, disciple and servant and you should show me your favours. O tiger among men! This entire circle of advisers was always revered by our father and you should not contradict what they want.’ Kaikeyee’s mighty-armed son said this, his voice choking with tears. Bharata repeatedly touched Rama’s feet with his head. He was like a maddened elephant and sighed repeatedly.

  Rama embraced his brother, Bharata, and said, ‘You have been born in a noble lineage. You possess spirit and energy and are good in conduct. For the sake of the kingdom, how can you commit a wicked act, like an ordinary person? O slayer of enemies! I do not see the slightest bit of taint in you. Like a child, you should not censure your mother. O one who knows about dharma! O supreme among those who uphold dharma! The honour and respect a father receives in this world is exactly the same as the honour that a mother receives. O Raghava! These two, mother and father, who are devoted to dharma in conduct, asked me to leave for the forest. How could one have acted contrary to this? You should receive the kingdom of Ayodhya and be revered by the people. With bark as a garment, I need to reside in Dandakaranya. In the presence of people, this is the division that the great king had ordained and instructed. The immensely energetic Dasharatha has now gone to heaven. The king, with dharma in his soul, is the preceptor of the worlds and of ours too and this is the norm he set. You should enjoy the share that our father has given. O amiable one! I will remain in Dandakaranya for fourteen years. Enjoy the share that our great-souled father has given to you. Our great-souled father is like the lord of the gods. He is respected in the world of men. I think what he told me is supremely beneficial for me, not an undecaying lordship over all the worlds.’

  Chapter 2(98)

  While the lions among men were still grieving, surrounded by a large number of their well-wishers, the night of misery passed. When night turned into a wonderful morning, surrounded by their well-wishers, the brothers meditated and offered oblations in Mandakinee, then approaching Rama. They sat in silence and no one uttered a word. In the midst of the well-wishers, Bharata then spoke these words to Rama. ‘Having given this kingdom to me, my mother has now been pacified. I am giving the kingdom back to you, bereft of thorns. Enjoy it. When a dam has been breached by the great force of water that the advent of the monsoon brings, it is difficult to mend it. Like that, this giant dominion of the kingdom cannot be ruled by anyone other than you. O lord of the earth! The speed of a horse cannot be replicated by a donkey, nor that of Tarkshya393 by an ordinary bird. I do not have the capacity to mimic your speed. A person on whom others depend for a living always lives well. O Rama! A person who depends on others for a living lives badly. A tree planted and tended to by a man may become a gigantic tree with a firm trunk, which always has flowers, but does not show any fruit. However, a dwarf finds it difficult to climb it. No pleasure is obtained by the person who planted it for a reason.394 O mighty-armed one! You should understand the reason behind this simile. You are the bull and lord among us. Instruct us, your servants. O great king! O scorcher of enemies! May all the classes look upon you established in front of them in the kingdom, scorching like the sun. O Kakutstha! Let crazy elephants follow you and trumpet. When you reach the inner quarters, let all the self-controlled women rejoice.’ When they heard Bharata’s words, beseeching Rama, the many people from the city thought that he spoke virtuous words.

  Seeing that the illustrious Bharata was extremely miserable and was lamenting in this way, Rama, self-restrained and in control of his soul, comforted him. ‘A man is not the master and cannot act according to his own desires. From here to there, he is dragged around by the one who brings an end to all action.395 Everything that is stored up is destroyed. Anything that goes up, ends in a fall. Union ends in separation. Life ends in death. A ripened fruit has no other fear other than that of falling down. In that way, a man who is born, has no other fear other than that of death. A house built on a firm foundation is eventually dilapidated and destroyed. Like that, a man comes under the subjugation of old age and death and is destroyed. In this world, as day and night pass, the lifespan of every living being is diminished, just as during summer, the sun’s rays quickly do the same to water. You should sorrow over your own self. Why are you sorrowing over another?396 Whether you are in one place or whether you roam around, your lifespan will be diminished. Death roams around with us. Death is seated with us. Even if one travels a long distance away, death returns with us. Wrinkles appear on the body. The hair on the head turns grey. A man decays because of old age. How can he regain
his old powers? Men are delighted when the sun arises and are delighted when the sun sets. They do not comprehend that their own lifespans decrease. They are delighted when they see the onset of a season, as if something new and newer has arrived. However, the change of the seasons heralds the destruction of the lifespans of living creatures. In the great ocean, a piece of wood rubs against another piece of wood. Having come together for a time, they drift apart again. Wives, sons, relatives and riches are like that. They come together, but their separation is also certain. No living being can transgress its destiny. Therefore, there should be no capacity to grieve over death. When a caravan passes, someone who is standing along the road says, “I will also follow you at the rear.” In that way, we must certainly follow the path taken by our fathers and grandfathers earlier. That being the case, since there is no violation to this, why should one sorrow? Age rushes on and like a flow, does not return. The atman should be engaged in something that brings happiness. It has been said that subjects deserve happiness. The lord of the earth, our father, had dharma in his soul. He performed all the sacrifices and gave away copious quantities of dakshina. Having cleansed his sins, he has gone to heaven. He maintained the servants and protected the subjects properly. Having followed dharma in accumulating artha, our father has gone to heaven. He performed many kinds of rites and sacrifices. He enjoyed all the objects of pleasure. Having spent an excellent life, the lord of the earth has gone to heaven. Our father has cast aside a decayed human body. He has obtained divine prosperity and roams around in Brahma’s world. Someone who is as wise as you should not grieve in this fashion. Someone like you and someone like me are learned and possess superior intelligence. All those who are patient and intelligent in all situations should abandon these many kinds of sorrow, lamentations and weeping. Therefore, be steady. Do not grieve. Go and reside in that city. O supreme among eloquent ones! That is what our self-controlled father engaged you to do. I have also been thus engaged by that performer of auspicious deeds. I will act in accordance with our noble father’s instructions. O scorcher of enemies! It is not proper for me to cast aside his instructions. He was our relative and our father and you must always also respect his wishes.’ Rama, devoted to dharma, spoke these words that were full of meaning and stopped.