जय श्रीराम!
महाकविकालिदासविरचितम्
रघुवंशमहाकाव्यम्
द्वादशः सर्गः - रावणवधः
I wish to begin today my notes on the great work, Raghuvaṃśa of Kālidāsa, 12th Sarga, that I am studying under Dr. Swomya Krishnapur of Vyoma. I consider it my greatest fortune that I have been her student since 2016 through online classes.
The 12th Sarga begins with the narration of how King Daśaratha wanted to make Śrī Rāma the Yuvarāja. We have read in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa how Śrī Rāma was already the de facto regent overseeing the rule of Ayodhya comprehensively and how he was the beloved leader of all people.
Kālidāsa states in the very first verse the condition of the king and the need to pass the baton.
निर्विष्टविषयस्नेहः स दशान्तमुपेयिवान् ।
आसीदासन्ननिर्वाणः प्रदीपार्चिरिवोषसि ॥ १॥
Meaning: Daśaratha had led a full life as a noble king ruling a vast kingdom. He was considered equal to Indra in prosperity and importance. He had enjoyed all material and sense pleasures, with three famous wives (and many others in the Antaḥpura). Now, he had reached a ripe old age. It was a good time to reflect on the next steps for the continued welfare of the kingdom.
Now Kālidāsa, poet non-pareil, crafts a comparison with his world-famous penchant for and mastery of Upamā (उपमा कालिदासस्य). So he says in the second line, "The king was close to his end like an oil-wick lamp flickering to its end at the end of the night heralding the dawn". Imagine a royal chamber with shining golden lamps lit last evening with thick wicks and full of the best of sesame oil (the oldest known oil!). They would have been filled and lit at the appointed time to burn and illuminate the chamber till the break of dawn. As the night ends, the lamp begins to flicker, its oil in its last dregs, the wick almost fully burnt. The idea of oil as the life force, the lamp's flickering indicating that the end is near, and the break of dawn heralding a transition of illumination from an oil lamp to the sun, i.e. the leadership baton passing from Daśaratha to the brightest scion of the Solar Dynasty, Śrī Rāma, are all captured in this imagery! At the same time, the verse fully evokes the scene in the royal chamber as the birds begin chirp heralding dawn and the lamps begin to flicker.
Indeed, Vālmīki says,
एतैस्तु बहुभिः युक्तं गुणैरनुपमैः सुतम् ।
दृष्ट्वा दशरथो राजा चक्रे चिन्तां परन्तपः ॥
अथ राज्ञो बभूवैवं वृद्धस्य चिरजीविनः ।
प्रीतिरेषा कथं रामो राजा स्यान्मयि जीवति ॥
Meaning: Knowing the immense array of virtues and capabilities and the immense popularity of Śrī Rāma, the long-serving, aged, king's desire arose to anoint Śrī Rāma as the successor and see him occupy the throne in his own lifetime.
So what did Daśaratha do? Let's wait for the next Śloka!
***
जय श्रीराम!
