July 4 - Sargas 73 and 74 of Ayodhya Kanda.
The Karuna Rasa in Bharata leads to a conflagration of righteous indignation. He speaks his mind to Kaikeyi leaving no doubt about how he is devastated by her devilish act. The famous monologue of Sivaji Ganesan as Bharata in Sampurna Ramayanam comes to mind as I picture the scene. Except that the histrionics are a bit tempered by Valmiki as he was unfamiliar with Tamil cinema.
Bharata makes six points with emphasis and redundancy to avoid any ambiguity.
- It has been the time-honoured tradition particularly among the renowned Ikshwakus that the eldest son is heir to the throne. How could this escape Kaikeyi, also of noble royal blood?
- By her machination exploiting Dasharatha's weakness for her embrace, in one stroke, Kaikeyi has killed the king and banished Sri Rama - a vile deed for which she will rot in hell.
- Bharata will NEVER forsake righteousness. He will never comply with Kaikeyi's evil scheme. He will bring back Sri Rama, and serve him.
- Bharata is distressed to even imagine how the citizens will mis-attribute Kaikeyi's evil scheme to him. That is a feeling worse than death.
- Kaikeyi has irretrievably wronged Kausalya by separating her from her son. No mother regards anyone more fondly than her own flesh and blood son.
- There is only one recourse to Kaikeyi now - to kill herself.
***
दुःखे मे दुःखमकरोर्व्रणे क्षारमिवादधाः ।
राजानं प्रेतभावस्थं कृत्वा रामं च तापसम् ॥
Bharata tells Kaikeyi : " You are rubbing salt into my terrible wounds by suggesting that I become the king -wounds you have inflicted by sending my father to the next world and reducing Sri Rama to an ascetic life in the forest."
तं हि नित्यं महाराजो बलवन्तं महाबलः ।
उपाश्रितोऽभुद्धर्मात्मा मेरुर्मेुरुवनं यथा ॥
"Are you not aware that the king, even as a supreme monarch, depended heavily on Sri Rama for ruling Ayodhya- even as the majestic Meru Parvata derives its greatness from the Meruvana on it?"
***
Then Bharata tells the story of the divine cow Kamadhenu, the mother of all bovines in the world. One day she was deeply distressed to see two bullocks on earth being maltreated in a farmer's field and toiling in the hot sun without food. She started shedding copious tears seeing her two children being so mistreated. The tears fell on Indra and he was alarmed, thinking that some calamity was imminent for heaven. He asked Kamadhenu what disaster was she hinting at? See Kamadhenu's reply:
शान्तं पापं न वः किञ्चित् कुतश्र्चिदामराधिप ।
अहं तु मग्नौ शोचामि स्वपुत्रौ विषमे स्थितौ ॥
"God forbid, oh king of gods, that anything untoward happens to you all. I am not suggesting any such calamity. I merely grieve over the hardship being suffered by my two children - seeing those two bullocks toiling on earth."
Indra wondered aloud how deep the filial love was from a mother towards her children. Note that Kamadhenu was the mother for all cows and bulls in the universe and yet she cared for each one of them. Such being the case, imagine what ultimate grief Kausalya, with only one son, would be suffering now on account of Kaikeyi!!!
***
न ह्यहं पापसङ्कल्पे पापे पापं त्वया कृतम् ।
शक्तो धारयितुं पौरैरश्रुकण्ठैर्निरीक्षितः ॥
"Oh woman of evil designs, I shudder to think how I am going to carry the burden of your sinful act and survive the looks of Ayodhya's citizens as they stare at me, overwhelmed by their grief!"
सा त्वमग्निं प्रविश वा स्वयं वा दण्डकान् विश ।
रज्जुं बधान वा कण्ठे न हि तेऽन्यत् परायणम् ॥
"There is no recourse for you now, after what you have done. Either you enter fire and immolate yourself, or vanish into the Dandaka forest, or hang yourself. "
***
As Bharata declares that he will go and bring back Sri Rama, he falls to the ground. Valmiki compares him to an elephant felled in the forest. He again compares him to the main flagstaff of Indra himself falling to the ground inauspiciously.
***
॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
