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Rama. Were they not Eternal Lovers
reunited? And so they rejoiced like lovers
come together after separation.
10. PARASURAMA'S
DISCOMFITURE
Having thus safely handed back to
Dasaratha at Mithila the princes entrusted
to him in Ayodhya, and after attending the
wedding
celebrations,
Viswamitra
took
leave of the two kings and went to
Himalaya.
In
the
story
of
Rama,
Viswamitra has no further part.
Viswamitra may be said to be the
foundation of the grand temple of Rama's
story. After Rama's wedding in Mithila,
we do not see him again. It should be
noted that characters that play a leading
role in one canto of Valmiki almost fade
out in subsequent cantos. Viswamitra who
dominates the Bala Kanda does not appear
again. Similarly, Kaikeyi and Guha are
prominent only in Ayodhya Kanda. The
same thing can be said of Bharata whom
we do not come across in the chapters
intervening
between
the
Chitrakuta
meeting and Rama's return to Ayodhya.
The poet hardly brings Bharata before
our eyes during the period of Rama's
distress.
The
characters
in
Valmiki
Ramayana
(unlike
those
in
the
Mahabharata and in ordinary plays and
novels) do not present themselves off and
on.
Critics
should
bear
this
general
characteristic of Valmiki's epic in mind.
King Dasaratha returned to Ayodhya,
accompanied by his retinue. On the way,
there
were
bad
omens
and
anxious
Dasaratha asked Vasishtha what they
portended. Vasishtha replied that there
was no need to be alarmed, for though the
birds in the air indicated approaching
trouble, the animals on the land promised
a happy consummation.
As Dasaratha and Vasishtha were thus
conversing, there broke out a great storm.
Trees were uprooted; the earth quaked and
clouds of dust went up and hid the sun and
there was an all-enveloping darkness.
Everyone was terror-struck. Soon they
knew
the
reason
for
the
strange
phenomenon. There stood before them the
awe-inspiring
figure
Parasurama,
the
sworn enemy of Kshatriyas, with a bow
on one shoulder and a battle-axe on the
other, and with an arrow shining like
lightning in his hand.
Terrible in appearance, with his matted
locks gathered overhead, he looked like
Rudra
exulting
in
the
destruction