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Lakshmana's outburst, for it was wise to
let the pent up passion find outlet in
words. Then, turning to Kausalya he said:
"Mother, let there be no talk of anyone
going with me to the forest. It is your duty
to stay here serving the King and sharing
the sorrow that has come to him in his old
age. How can the crowned Queen of an
Emperor wander with me like a widow in
the forest? This cannot be. I shall return
after my term of forest life. It is my duty
to fulfil my father's word. It is all the same
to me, whether it is just or unjust,
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 fulfil our
father's word. If we fail in that, no other
achievement can make up for it."
Rama 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 Rama,
were the sufferer. But it was Rama who
was the victim of this cruel injustice. And
so Lakshmana writhed in anger like a
wounded cobra. Rama took him apart,
made him sit down and tried to calm him:
"Lakshmana, are you not my other self,
my very soul in another body? Listen to
me. You are courageous and strong.
Control your anger and grief on my
account. Don't allow these evil spirits to
possess you. Holding fast to dharma, let
us convert our present disgrace into a
great joy. Let us forget all about the
coronation, and think worthily as becomes
our race. Consider our father's condition.
Our hearts should go out to him in
sympathy, for he is stricken with a great
sorrow. Whatever be the reason, he gave a
promise and if he should break it, he
would be committing a shameful sin
which would besmirch and blot out all his
great and glorious deeds. He is heart-
broken at the wrong he feels he has done
me. But I do not feel it a wrong at all, for
a king must keep his word and a son must
obey his father. You should show that you
too are free from any sense of injury. Only
so can we bring him mental relief. 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 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 all
these years? That she should suddenly
conceive this idea is surely the working of
fate. We should not blame her for it. One
proposes
something
and
fate
decides
otherwise. In this, Kaikeyi is but a passive
instrument in the hand of fate. Our little
mother will have to bear the grievous
burden of the world's blame, but our love