The Sarayu carried more tears than water. Ayodhya was a
sad kingdom.
Dasaratha was a good king. He upheld
dharma – justice and morality – as best as he could. The citizens were apparently
happy.
Then, one day, it all changed. One
person is enough to change the destiny of a whole kingdom. Who was that one
person? Some say it was Kaikeyi, one of the three official wives of Dasaratha.
Some others say it was Manthara, Kaikeyi’s chief maid.
Manthara was a hunchback. She was the
caretaker of Kaikeyi right from the latter’s childhood; foster mother, so to
say, because Kaikeyi had no mother. The absence of maternal influence can
distort a girl child’s personality. With a foster mother like Manthara, the distortion
can be really bad.
Manthara was cunning, selfish, and
morally ambiguous. A severe physical deformity can make one worse than all
that. Manthara was as devious and manipulative as a woman could be in a men’s
world. Add to that all the jealousy and ambition that insecure people tend to possess.
It is said that Manthara poisoned
Kaikeyi’s consciousness. But Kaikeyi was a grown-up adult, a queen, when she
demanded the exile of Rama, the crown prince of Ayodhya. Why didn’t she
exercise her own personal morality and convictions?
The Sarayu was destined to weep. They
called it Karma. You bear the fruits of your actions. If you are a river, you
will carry the karma of the people on your banks and beyond. Have you ever
wondered why the Ganga is always polluted?
Ayodhya wanted Rama as their next
king. Rama was a gentleman, gentle man. He was quite the opposite of Manthara.
Selfless and compassionate, he was hailed as Maryada Purushottam, the ideal
man. But destiny sent him to the wilderness for fourteen years; destiny in the
form of Kaikeyi’s demand which in turn came from Manthara the maid with twisted
bones and more twisted mind.
The destiny of an entire kingdom can
be altered by anyone at all, even a hunchback maid. It could be a washerman too
(as it happened later to Sita), or a teaseller. Just anyone.
And the Sarayu wept each time. She
had no choice but carry people’s karma. Even in a kingdom of dharma where a
son’s obedience, father’s grief, brother’s loyalty, and a wife’s ordeal merge
into the troubled waters of a river.
Ayodhya had more good citizens than
evil ones. Yet it was a sad kingdom. Because where dharma wins, love is likely
to lose.
Rama went into exile to uphold
dharma. Sita jumped into fire to prove the authenticity of her personal dharma.
Lakshmana sacrificed his youth for the sake of dharma. Bharata relinquished
royal powers, again for the sake of dharma.
In spite of all that, Ayodhya
remained a sad kingdom. Rama sat on the bank of the Sarayu in the end, a
solitary man who upheld dharma and lost his beloved wife.
PS. I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. This series will look at the Ramayana from various angles.
Tomorrow: Bharat:
The Ascetic King
Great start.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteThe upholding of 'Dharma' certainly demands several personal sacrifices.
ReplyDeleteCut to the present where dharma and sacrifice are demanded from others for a select few to stay in power.
I am usually a little hesitant when someone picks a topic that has religious undertones, but this one resonated.
Cheers,
CRD
Do return for the whole series. I assure you it will be worthwhile.
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteAs Ram Navami approaches, these ruminations will make for an interesting read... YAM xx
The series will get more philosophical as it moves on.
DeleteDharma requires personal sacrifices. A path of righteousness is not easy.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. This theme of dharma and sacrifice will come up again and again in this series. One post, dedicated entirely to Dharma, will examine whether some of that pain can be mitigated.
DeleteThis was a wonderful read. It's so true that everyone blames Kaikeyi but no one understands that it was Manthara who planted the seed in her mind. I am looking forward to your posts.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you on this journey which is a personal quest for me.
DeleteDo you wonder why the Ganga is always polluted - wow. What a wonderful look at Ramayana and dharma. Cannot wait to read more in this series.
ReplyDeleteI'll be delighted to have you till the end. It may jolt you occasionally.
DeleteMothers naturally consider their daughter's well-being, as Manthara did. Similarly mothers think of their son's welfare, as Kaikeyi did. Today, we often see full-sisters, close in their youth, drifting apart as they focus on their own families and children. Ramayana is about son of other wife of her husband!! Given the natural tendencies, is it fair to blame Manthara or Kaikeyi. Everyone played their role. :-) Good start sir.
ReplyDelete//Because where dharma wins, love is likely to lose. // Take home for today :-)
I'm actually a learner of the Ramayana. So these discussions are good for me and I'm glad many are joining.
DeleteIn all the stories women are described as eternal beauties , the strong backbone of the family , but indeed the same woman can make things go wrong and destroy the peace and happiness of the family . Just like that in everyones childhood mothers are their supreme care support and love but some times even those scenarios can go wrong , and this Ayodhya series depict one such scenario. Indeed a woman or any one person is enough for the destruction of any good things just as we see in here . The selfishness , crooked mind of a woman , and how one bad personality can influence and manipulate another person is perfectly demonstrated in this first series. This series can be very helpful for people like me (the young generation)who are curious to know about all these series , very excited to read the upcoming series .
ReplyDeleteLove reading this!! ❤️
I'm glad to have you here, Mary Ann, the youngest commenter so far. I'm glad you've taken to this with some zest. Let's get to know our epic better. Welcome to this space.
DeleteEverything was destined to happen. But I sometimes wonder, why it happened the way it happened. Your post is beautiful and poetic. Loved the opening line: "Sarayu carried more tears than water." Deep indeed!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking at the epic as a literary work rather than religious. Some of the coming posts may be a little unorthodox.
DeleteWhat a marvelously woven yarn out of the ancient piece! Sarayu's soulful mourning wets the heart and dampens the spirit. A unique write up, not to sound panglossian! Good going.... April 1 has brought wisdom in a new hue! Melted in it..no words...
ReplyDeleteThank you for this poetic appreciation. I'm actually buried in the Ramayana these days.
DeleteThat sounds interesting... waiting in anticipation for the following ones.
DeleteHow brilliantly you have showcased the epic in your own unique style ! And the line : where dharma wins, love is likely to lose; is just too impactful. Eagerly waiting for the next read, Sir !
ReplyDeleteDo accompany me on this journey, Chinmayee. I have put in much meditation for this series.
DeleteI liked how you keep asserting the Ayodhya was a sad kingdom and site examples too, but dharma's path is tough, and i believe during the age of Ram dharma above else was important. Like they say in hindi " pran jaye par vachan na jaye"
ReplyDeleteHoping to follow you in this journey
Do join and add this sort of comments which help me understand the epic better. Yes, I understand how dharma must have meant the cosmos to Rama. But I do dare to question that in the post on Dharma and Destiny. That's how I learn.
DeleteGood start Sir! I always thought Ayodhya is fortunate to have Rama born there. But ya as you said, it became a sad kingdom bearing the burden of multiple mishaps. Will bookmark and follow this series through A2Z. It's always interesting to learn deep about Indian Epics.
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled that I have so much support on this. Thank you for being with me.
DeleteSome people...
ReplyDeleteFrom Indian mythology.
DeleteI did A-Z challenge when I first start blogging.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome again.
DeleteThis is quite a thought-provoking reflection on Ramayana ... the cascading effects of ones actions and role of dharma, karma, etc.
ReplyDeleteMore is on the way.
DeleteAn amazing start to the Ramayana written with a different view point! I look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you'll be here in April.
DeleteYou got me invested in your writing right from the first line. What powerful imagery—I have never looked at the river that way. Also, the take on a river carrying the karma of the people on its bank is intriguing too.
ReplyDeleteLoved the whole narrative, but if I have to stick to just one line, it would be this: Because where dharma wins, love is likely to lose. This is sure to stay etched in my mind for a long long time.
Thanks for the good words, dear friend.
DeleteDharma is coming for discussion under letter D. I must add that I am a learner myself here and not a scholar of Ramayana. Secondly, I read it as a work of literature rather than a religious text.
Ganga is polluted as we don't understand that it needs space to flow! Ayodhya is a sad kingdom even now. All of mythology is a drama that was probably designed to foster goodwill but I guess its how we interpret it that makes it real or reel!
ReplyDeleteYes, Ambica. How we interpret our epics, scriptures, and anything of that sort matters a lot. That's precisely why I embarked on this venture.
Delete