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The Silence of the Sarayu

By Gemini AI


The Sarayu wept again. In silence. Sita had been swallowed by the earth.

If I have been pure in thought, word, and deed,
and have never once thought of any man but Rama,
then, O Mother Earth, receive me into your bosom.

Sita prayed and Bhumi Devi, Mother Earth, appeared personally to take Sita into her embrace. She vanished from the earth after that.

Silence descended on Ayodhya. It engulfed Rama and Lakshmana and everyone else. The Sarayu was both a witness and a participant of all the sighs that underlay the silence.

Rama fell into silence after Sita’s departure. He knew he was incomplete without Sita. He knew that words would have no meaning hereafter. The silence of the fissured heart is more eloquent than the music of apsaras. The Sarayu could feel the pulse of Rama’s silence as he sat on her shore looking into her depths for days on end.

Words have had their time already. The Sarayu recalled how words fell from Sita’s noble lips when Rama asked her to undergo the fire test again. “I am not the woman you take me for,” she asserted herself on Rama’s face. “My purity is untouched. You speak like a common man, not a noble king. If there is any impurity in me, let fire consume me. If I am pure, Agni will protect me.”

They turned out to be mere words. Like a mathematician’s elegant equation recited to a crowd unburdened by numbers. Like a sweet melody played to a deaf audience. The mathematician and the melodist all bow out. Silence descends. A silence that transcends mere absence of sound. A silence that is more potent than any eloquent speech.

The Sarayu flowed silently, mirroring the amber of the sky in the day and its darkness at night. The silence grew heavy and heavier. It was a pregnant silence. And then, one day, it delivered.

No fanfare, no chariots, no vanquished foes this time – only the gentle hush of water receiving its own king. Rama walked into the river, no more a warrior, but a weary soul returning home.

It was the time of the ultimate renunciation on the part of Rama. Renunciation of karma itself. All the roles had been played out: son, king, husband, warrior. Now it is time to merge into the silence of eternity. The Sarayu absorbs the final merging of the human into the divine. How much of it all was real, and how much maya? Sarayu reflected. Humans, demons, and the divine. A lot of noise that peters out to this final utter silence.

Sarayu has been there from the beginning: Rama’s exile and then the triumphant return. She has seen them all: the agonies and the ecstasies. Now she knows that all of it comes to this finality: the ultimate silence.

Perhaps that is how all stories end: not in thunder or applause, but in silence. In the gentle hush of a river that carries away kings and commoners, and keeps the story flowing.

PS. I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. This series looks at the Ramayana from various angles.

Tomorrow: Tara of Kishkindha

Previous Posts in this series:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. This is beautiful! The whole post has a sense of melancholy but also soothes the reader with assurance that life will continue, just like the river.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What may begin with a bang will have to end with a whimper.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hari Om
    I agree with Srivalli. Here, your words take on a river-like current drawing us through the silence which we all must, finally, face. YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Someone told me this is repetitive, my love for the Sarayu. I'm in love with water, rivers particularly. Rivers can make me a poet sometimes.

      Delete
  4. All stories end in silence
    How profound

    Didn't read ur other posts but could visualise this ...stumbled upon blog remembering my old a to z days :) so good to see u writing so bfully!
    My best

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you'll return. :) The series is ending soon and the final episodes are going to be slightly louder.

      Delete
  5. The sarayu sees it all, feels it all. Never speaks, but in silence, she answers

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  6. Your portrayal of Rama’s silence after Sita’s departure is hauntingly beautiful. The way you describe his realization of incompleteness, sitting by the Sarayu, speaks volumes about the depth of his grief. It’s a silence that transcends words, a silence that the river itself seems to echo.

    The imagery of Sita’s final moments, her prayer to Mother Earth, and her subsequent disappearance into the earth is poignant. It’s a powerful reminder of the transient nature of life and the impermanence of even the most steadfast beings. The Sarayu, witnessing and absorbing all these emotions, becomes a silent participant in the unfolding tragedy.

    Your reflection on how stories often end not with grandeur but in quietude resonates deeply. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the most profound moments are those that are unspoken. Thank you for sharing this contemplative piece—it’s left me with much to ponder.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your detailed comments on my Ramayana posts. Each of your comments summarises as well as explains the post succinctly.

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  7. This was a sad post. Also a very wise one - telling us that all actions have consequences. I was unaware that this is how Lord Ram ended his life . Mayuri

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  8. How does one interpret silence? And was Sita taken for granted by Rama? I often wonder. A thought provoking post, Sir !

    ReplyDelete

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