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Ayodhya: Kingdom of Sorrows


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

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. The upholding of 'Dharma' certainly demands several personal sacrifices.

    Cut 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

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    1. Do return for the whole series. I assure you it will be worthwhile.

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  2. Hari Om
    As Ram Navami approaches, these ruminations will make for an interesting read... YAM xx

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    1. The series will get more philosophical as it moves on.

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  3. Dharma requires personal sacrifices. A path of righteousness is not easy.

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    1. Absolutely. 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.

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  4. This 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.

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    1. Glad to have you on this journey which is a personal quest for me.

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  5. Do 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.

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    1. I'll be delighted to have you till the end. It may jolt you occasionally.

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  6. Mothers 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.

    //Because where dharma wins, love is likely to lose. // Take home for today :-)

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    1. I'm actually a learner of the Ramayana. So these discussions are good for me and I'm glad many are joining.

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  7. In 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 .

    Love reading this!! ❤️

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    1. 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.

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  8. Everything 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!

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    1. I'm looking at the epic as a literary work rather than religious. Some of the coming posts may be a little unorthodox.

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  9. What 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...

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    1. Thank you for this poetic appreciation. I'm actually buried in the Ramayana these days.

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    2. That sounds interesting... waiting in anticipation for the following ones.

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  10. How 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 !

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    1. Do accompany me on this journey, Chinmayee. I have put in much meditation for this series.

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  11. I 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"
    Hoping to follow you in this journey

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    1. 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.

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  12. Good 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.

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    1. I'm thrilled that I have so much support on this. Thank you for being with me.

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  13. I did A-Z challenge when I first start blogging.

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  14. This is quite a thought-provoking reflection on Ramayana ... the cascading effects of ones actions and role of dharma, karma, etc.

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  15. An amazing start to the Ramayana written with a different view point! I look forward to reading more.

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  16. You 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.
    Loved 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.

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    1. Thanks for the good words, dear friend.

      Dharma 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.

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  17. 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!

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    1. Yes, Ambica. How we interpret our epics, scriptures, and anything of that sort matters a lot. That's precisely why I embarked on this venture.

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