The wise think twice

The amazing thing is Lakshmana’s mind remains so wide awake that he is able not only to see the falsity of the situation but also able to spot that it is Märïca…

‘It is wise to think twice – even more – before venturing into such an escapade. ‘aduththavum eNNich cheydhal aNNalE amaidhi andrO?’ Is it not practical to think of consequences before venturing into such an attempt? If you feel that this deer has to be caught, you stay here with Sita. I will go and fetch it. ‘viduththu idhan pin nindraalgaL palar uLar eninum,’ Even if there is a crowd that has connived to send this animal here, ‘villaal vem pagazhi thUvith thodarndhanen viraindhu sendru,’ I will go behind it quickly shooting many an arrow and ‘padukkuven’ I will kill it. ‘adhu andru aayin patrinen koNarven,’ or else I will capture it alive and bring it here.

Lakshmana was not ready to agree to Rama going after the deer. As the most loyal brother – loyal servant would be more appropriate – he wanted to take the risk himself. The amazing thing is his mind remains so wide awake that he is able not only to see the falsity of the situation but also able to spot that it is Märïca who has come in disguise and also that there must be ‘somebody else’ behind this drama as Märïca would not have dared to come of his own, especially after he was spared by Rama’s arrows in the beginning of their exile when Märïca tried to attack him in the form of a deer, along with two of his friends. And that faculty of judgement was totally absent in both Sita as well as Rama, as the Poets mention.

“Sita, who had been robbed of her faculty of judgement by the hoax (practised by the ogre) and who felt overjoyed at the prospect of laying her hands on the weird deer) spoke (as follows) with a bright smile (playing on her lips),” says Valmiki. (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto XLIII, Sloka 9)

Of course, she had her fears. ‘Lakshmana had already set his mind against this lovely deer,’ she might have thought ‘and would not do anything but kill it.’ More over, it was something that she wanted to have from the hands of Rama, her loving husband, as a token of his love. She was therefore not prepared to let it caught by Lakshmana. ‘vaayidai mazhalai in sol kiLiyin maazhghi,’ blabbering like a parakeet she sulked. ‘naayaga nIyE patri nalgalai pOlum!’ ‘So you are not going to get it for me?’

Sri VVS Aiyar, the great freedom fighter and a close friend of poet Subramanya Bharati reserved Sita as the last character for his ‘Kamba Ramayanam – A study’. But alas, before he could write even the first word on Sita, he died in an accident and finally the book was published with the study on Sita written by the Delhi Tamil Sangam. The following lines on Sita in the said study are thought provoking. “Rama could have reacted like Lakshmana; and, if he had reacted that way, Sita might have changed her mind. Rama failed to grasp the truth about the deer and this failure on the part of Rama helped Sita’s desire to grow unchecked.”

But there is another angle to it. Sita, the loving wife, had accepted the life in jungle for thirteen long years and she had not asked Rama for anything. This was a demand, which only a loving husband can understand and could not resist or postpone it for a single moment longer. It was Rama’s love for Sita that impelled him to pursue the deer, despite the explicit warning that issues forth from Lakshmana.

My sire is great

As Märïca fell down in his original form, he thought of his brother who restrained him in the first instance (and exclaimed) my sire is great…

It was the good fortune of the celestials that Rama did not listen to Lakshmana on that day, puts the Poet. ‘nOkkiya maanai nOkki nudhiyudai madhiyin ondrum thUkkilan.’ Rama did not apply his sharp intellect and come to a judgement on the deer. ‘nandru idhu endraan.’ ‘It looks so good; he said. ‘adhan poruL sollal aagum.’ (if you wonder why he did not do so,) there is a valid reason behind it. ‘sEkkayin aravu neengip pirandhadhu dhEvar seydha baakkiyam udamai andrO.’ If at all he left his snake-bed in the Ocean of Milk, it was due to the good fortune of the celestials. ‘annadhu pazhudhu pOmO?’ Would it go waste?

And finally when Rama ordered Lakshmana to stand guard and went in pursuit of the deer, Lakshmana sent him off with the words, ‘anna maarIchan endrE ayirththanan idhanai ayya,’ My Lord, I have a strong suspicion that this deer is nothing but an adopted and illusory form of Märïca. ‘innamum kaaNdi.’ You will realise this very soon.

The deer took Rama away, dodging him for a very long time. It would appear at an arm’s distance now and now it would disappear and now it would reappear in a distance. ‘kaaym vEru aagi seyyum karumam vEru aagitru andrE,’ thought Rama. It has the body of an animal but the way it acts is not that of an ordinary animal. It is not possible to catch it alive. Let me kill it now, he decided. Märïca was quick to read that thought of Rama and leapt up into the skies. Rama took an arrow and ordered, ‘pukka dhEyam pukku in uyir pOkku.’ Follow it wherever it goes and kill it.

The moment Märïca fell down with cries of ‘Lakshmana! Sita!’ Rama realised the validity of Lakshmana’s caution and circumspection. ‘It has not come here for nothing. There must be some reason behind this drama. There must be something behind this deer bringing me this long a distance away. And certainly there is somebody behind all this,’ he assessed and quickly returned, wondering and praising the wisdom of his brother.

‘veyyavan than uruvodu veezhdhalum,’ As Märïca fell down in his original form, ‘seyyadhu andru enach cheppiya thambiyai,’ he thought of his brother who restrained him in the first instance (and exclaimed) ‘ayyan vallan,’ my sire is great. ‘en aaruyir vallan.’ The one as dear as my very life is really great. ‘naan uyya vandhavan vallan.’ The one who has come as my saviour is really very great.

That is the greatest of compliment that Lakshmana could ever have received. But note again, when praising, Rama praises in his soliloquy and not in the presence of Lakshmana.

It was not an easy day for Lakshmana. He had another kind of pressure to cope with. A pressure that he did his all not to succumb to but was driven against the wall and forced against his will to move away from the place. Kamban and Valmiki differ in the drama that ensued the cry that was heard, calling the names of Lakshmana and Sita. We will see both the versions one by one.

Calming the storm or storming the calm?

The process of arguing, reasoning and concluding logically needs a very clam and clear mind stoically refusing to get disturbed by whatever happens around…

After a long period of around thirteen years of peace, serenity and quietude, events seemed to be a bit too impatient that day that they ceaseless rushed one over the other, one intensifying the effect of the previous event and paving way for another to follow very quickly. While Rama was worried about the way Sita would read the cries of Märïca, which he well mimicked in the voice of Rama, he was convinced of one thing. He knew very clearly that Lakshmana would remain unperturbed even when facing this turbulence.

‘maatram innadhu maarIchan endru Etra kaalayin mun uNarndhaan.’ He inferred that this deer was nothing but the illusory form of Märïca, very correctly. ‘enadhu aatral thErum aRivinaan.’ It is not difficult for him to reason out that since my skills are greater, no harm would occur to me. ‘aadhalaal thEtrumaal iLayOn.’ ‘Therefore, there is nothing much to worry. Lakshmana would console Sita suitably,’ he thought.

He had a valid reason for the intellect. The process of arguing, reasoning and concluding logically needs a very clam and clear mind stoically refusing to get disturbed by whatever happens around. Only such a state of mind can allow the intellect to function properly and do its job. But when emotions run high, the intellect – however sharp it may otherwise be – gets blunted, blurred and bloodshot. It becomes subservient to emotions and finds out funny reasons to substantiate unnecessary and unfounded fears. It keeps on building up arguments until it achieves its perceived object – the object in reality may be another ‘golden deer.’ The perception may say something while the actuality may have something so diametrically opposite, in store.

Sita was in such an agitated state of mind. She has seen her husband fighting forces of ogres, countless millions of them headed by Khara and D¬üsana in Janasthana, single handed and razing them and obliterating them from the face of the earth in a trice. Her admiration for Rama was so high that day that the Poet paints a very beautiful picture of unbounded love. “Seeing her husband who had made short work of his enemies and brought happiness to the great sages, Sita (a princess of Videha territory) felt rejoiced and embraced him. Nay, transported with supreme felicity to see the hordes of ogres killed, the daughter of Janaka felt gratified to find Sri Rama whole. Then closely embracing once more that destroyer of the ogre hordes who was being highly extolled by exalted souls full of delight, the daughter of Janaka felt rejoiced, her countenance lit with joy.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto XXX, Sloka 38-41)

‘It is not usual for women to come forward and embrace their husband of their own,’ observes Srinivasa Sastriyar. But Sita was so overjoyed and felt elated at the glorious deed of Rama that day. And, Sita, this very same princess of Videha could not remain calm that day, even after having seen her husband’s valour with her own eyes. She was worried. She was confused and she allowed her emotions to run high and wild that day and poured molten lead into the ears of Lakshmana.

The urgent and the immediate I

And now, when Lakshmana is prioritising his responsibilities and be of assistance to the one who needs it most, he is accused of disloyalty and unfounded and wanton designs…

Anxiety and anger are seeds of another kind. Like the bean in the story of Jack and the bean-stalk, they need but a moment to fall in the ground, take roots, spread leaves, grow into a massive tree spreading branches in quite unexpected directions and unlike the bean-stalk, instead of sucking water from the good-earth for its growth, suck all the vital potions of one’s very existence dry instantly and occupy every little crevice of the mind space, taking hold of the mind and choking one of its very primary functions – looking for evidence and coming to conclusion based on evidence.

This was more or less same state of mind that Arjuna was in when the war started. ‘Anxiety state neurosis’ is how Swami Chinmayananda terms ‘Arjuna Vishadha Yoga,’ the first chapter of Gita. It is born in the mind and it thrives by eating the mind. And, the worst part of it, there is no need to have a valid reason for giving room to this anxiety. ‘manak kavalai vaLarthida vENduvOr oru kaaraNam kaaNbadhu kashtamO?’ asked Subramanya Bharati. If one wants to be anxious, it is not difficult to find a reason!

It was the state of mind in which Sita was that day, on hearing the cry of the mimicked voice of Märïca. She firmly believed that Rama was in trouble. She refused to listen to the words of Lakshmana that he is capable of taking care of himself and that his (Lakshmana’s) prime responsibility at that time was to stand guard, protecting her. But she saw it differently. Her anxiety for the safety of her Lord made her mind run wild and amuck and so totally unbridled. The hard refusal of Lakshmana to move an inch from that place made her even more anxious and that made her to invent many different ways to force him to move away from that place, in search of Rama whom she perceived to be in trouble.

‘What trouble could he be in that he is incapable of handling himself, and what assistance could I be of in such a situation, when I have a greater responsibility at hand?’ said the stoic. Sita hit him hard, blamed him of disloyalty and indulged in calumny of a kind, which she herself would not forgive her for having said that, were she the normal person she used to be. ‘kutram veendha em kOmagan,’ My Lord of impeccable qualities ‘matru av vaaL arakkar puri maayayaal,’ because of the illusory tactics of rakshasas, ‘itru veezhndhanan ennavum,’ even when he has fallen a hapless and helpless victim, ‘en ayal nitriyO iLayava oru nee?’ would you still prefer to stand by my side?

The phrase ‘oru nee’ means, ‘the only one who has to take care and render assistance and complement Rama’s valour’. ‘When you are supposed to be by his side rendering him assistance and supporting him in his battle against the enemies who are extraordinary in many respects, what are you doing here, standing by my side, idly?’

When Lakshmana pointed out the folly of going behind the deer, specifically mentioning that it was Märïca who had come in that form, nobody was prepared to listen to him. And now, when Lakshmana is prioritising his responsibilities and be of assistance to the one who needs it most, he is accused of disloyalty and unfounded and wanton designs.

What we have seen above is the mildest of the words of Sita. Just a starter. Let’s see them in perspective, with due justice and respect to both characters involved as this is one place where Lakshmana is accused of failure at the post of duty and Sita is accused of rash and unthinking behaviour.

The urgent and the immediate II

Anxiety is the mother of most of the woes. It gives birth to vain and pointless anger, which needs to be expended on some direction that one is not very sure of…

As we saw earlier, Sita was too anxious to listen to reason. It is human nature to see some action at least, when one is impatient and is going through a trauma. When I sincerely believe that someone whom I love is in distress, I would not be able to restrain myself from rushing to his or her help. Who would not! But when my mobility is limited by circumstances, I would naturally look upon my closest and trusted next of kin to do what I would have done. And when that person does not respond to my urge, I would naturally try to push him or her into action in the direction that I desire. For, it has to be understood that I am in a state of anxiety and not in my normal mental state.

Sita was riven by the ‘anxiety state neurosis’. ‘paar ena kanal ena punal ena, pavana vaan pEr enaiththu avan muniyil pErumaal,’ says Lakshmana. What of other things, the very five elements – earth, fire, water, air and sky – would shatter if he is angered. ‘kaar enak kariya ak kamalak kaNNanai, yaar enak karudhi iv idarin aazhkindreer?’ Who do you think Rama is and are getting immersed in this ocean of worries!

It seems you have not quite understood who Rama is! ‘idandhu pOi nisi-sararkku iraaman evvam vandhu azhaikumE!’ Would he ever be lessened by the might of asuras? Is he incapable of vanquishing them? Even assuming that they overpower him, for a moment, do you think distressed by their might he would summon for help? In the first instance, he cannot be overpowered. In the second place, he would not call for help in a voice of distress, even if you assume that he is not able to withstand their might. He would fight to the last in such a circumstance. Who do you think Rama is, my mother? ‘…kamalak kaNNanai yaar enak karudhi…’

Arunachala Kavirayar who composed the ‘Rama Nataka Keerthana’ was inspired by this line. The famous lyric occurring in a parallel scene in ‘Rama Nataka Keerthana’ ‘yaar endru raagavanai eNNineer amma! idhai arindhu sonneerO ariyeerO neer amma!’ is just an elaboration, with the use of the very same words of above verse of Kamban. ‘What did you think of Rama! Are you uttering these words, (even after) knowing his valour or don’t you know anything about it at all, O mother mine!’

But such words do nothing but to fan the anxiety and consequently the anger of Sita. Anxiety is the mother of most of the woes. It gives birth to vain and pointless anger, which needs to be expended in some direction that one is not very sure of. It is directed – or is thought of as being directed – in one direction with some seeming purpose. But as it is born of anxiety, it never makes it mark. It may sometimes achieve the purpose that the person who uses it wants to achieve. However, it always lands the person and others around him or her in trouble. Anger born of anxiety. Righteous anger is totally different and needs to be practised. That is why Poet Bharati said ‘rowdhram pazhagu.’ But what we are seeing now is not that. This one is born of worry, baseless and unfounded, evading all logic and reason. And the effect of it?

The urgent and the immediate III

Sita utters several words that are unkindly and unbecoming to Lakshmana…

The drama as painted by Valmiki shows Sita extremely agitated and pouring verbal acid over Lakshmana. She says things, which she otherwise would not have dreamt of saying. It was indeed unkindly and unbecoming of her to accuse Lakshmana of motives that could not even be in the innermost recesses of this most loyal, obedient and self-effacing younger brother, who was nothing other than a child, the eldest son, for this couple until then.

“You are as it were an enemy of your brother in the guise of a friend, O Lakshmana (son of Sumitra) in that you do not rush to the help of your brother (even) in this predicament. For my sake, O Lakshmana, you wish Sri Rama to perish. Surely due to greed for me you do not follow Sri Rama (a scion of Raghu).” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto XLV, Sloka 6, 7) “Having served as my husband Sri Rama of lotus-like eyes and dark-brown as a blue lotus, how can I covet an ordinary man (like you)? I shall undoubtedly give up the ghost in your presence, O son of Sumitra!” (Ibid, Sloka 26)

This was something that Lakshmana did not expect and could not take it any more. “I dare not make a reply (to you), since you are a deity to me,” he replies. (Sloka 27-28). “May all be well with you, O lady of charming countenance! Let all the sylvan deities protect you, O large-eyed lady! The fearful evil portents which appear before my eyes indeed make me doubtful whether when come back with Sri Rama I shall be able to see you.” (Ibid, Sloka 33-34)

Critics are rather not convinced about the need for the use of such words. But it should be remembered that though Sita directed such unbecoming words towards Lakshmana, she did not really mean what she said. Her purpose was to push Lakshmana away from that place to go in search of Rama, for her fear was so great. She knew very well Lakshmana would not move from that place unless he is shocked or put under pressure of an extreme kind. Her words were meant to drive him in search of Rama and nothing more than that.

We hear her heart in the Sundara Kanda, when she speaks of Lakshmana to Hanuman and tells him, “Inquiries concerning welfare should be addressed on my behalf and in my name to Lakshmana, that heroic and powerful (younger) brother of Sri Rama, who, having renounced garlands and all kinds of jewels…because of whom Sumitra has earned the title of a blessed mother… who behaves towards Sri Rama as towards his father and treated me as his (own) mother…” This is what she thinks of Lakshmana in actuality, though in her impatience and confused state of mind, she sounded so harsh, with the sole purpose of pushing him away from that place.

Nor did Lakshmana take it into his heart and nurse a grudge against her for having uttered these words. Even when Rama chides him for having left his post of duty and come in search of him abandoning Sita, he does not mention these words to him. Listen to his words:

“I have not come here leaving her of myself by voluntary action. I have sought your presence here only when urged by her in pungent words.” (Ibid, Canto LIX, Sloka 5) He merely states, ‘pungent words,’ and does not mention what they were! He knew after all, if he informs Rama, the result would not be pleasant.

The urgent and the immediate IV

Kamban presents a totally different drama that is convincing and at the same time serves the same purpose…

Kamban devices quite an ingenious way of bringing about pressure on Lakshmana, without Sita having to utter such words. Instead of blaming Lakshmana of motives, Kamban shows Sita attempting self-immolation. She threatens Lakshmana that she would jump into fire if Lakshmana did not budge. She lights up fire and even rushes towards it. ‘thaamarai vanaththidaith thaavum annam pOl thUma veng kaatu eri thodargindraaL’ Like a swan moving into a pond full of lotuses, she (almost) went into the jungle fire that she had set.

The drama is so very convincing, and serves the purpose. Lakshmana is left with no other option but to move from that place. ‘iruppanel eriyidai irapparaal ivar,’ he thinks. If I stay here, she would jump into fire and end her life. ‘poruppu anayaanidam pOvanE enil aruppam il kEdu vandhu adayum.’ And if I go in search of Rama, it would result in immeasurable tragedy. ‘aar uyir viruppanErkku en seyal’ O! I am incapable of dying at this moment and end all trouble! What am I to do now!

The irony and pathos of this scene attain a new dimension when in the last scene of agni pravesa, Lakshmana is ordered by Sita to light a fire. Poor Lakshmana, who could strop Sita now and comfort her by agreeing to go in search of Rama, could not do anything then. One who saved her from jumping into Agni now had to be a silent witness and even more, he had to arrange for the fire ordeal with his own hands!

‘I entrust you to the guardian angels of the jungle to take care of you in our absence,’ says Lakshmana in Valmiki Ramayana. ‘kaaval sei eruvayin thalaivan kaNNurum aavadhu kaakkum,’ thinks he in Kamban. ‘Jatayu would take care of her when I go away’. The famed ‘Lakshman rekha’ is not at all mentioned either in Valmiki Ramayana or Kamba Ramayana.

Rama who was extremely worried about Sita was returning and on his way back, he met Lakshmana. He had the consolation that Lakshmana was by her side and would comfort her with his sound reasoning and that he would not leave her side on any account. He was shocked to find Lakshmana there. ‘unni vandha nilai en kol?’ he questions Lakshmana. ‘What made you move away from her?’

When Lakshmana explained the situation, he was all the more dejected. ‘It is not her fault. She was afraid that I was faced with danger. Nor was it your fault. You could not have stayed there in the circumstances. It is my fault, Lakshmana, it is my fault. ‘mundhe thadukka ozhiyaadhu eduththa vinayEn mudiththa mudivaal,’ all because of my misjudgement and wrong decision. I should have told her a firm ‘no’ at that time.

From this point onwards we see Rama again and again falling a prey to guilt feelings and self-pity and self-reproach. What a panacea was Lakshmana to him during this troubled times! How tactfully he handles the situations! How logically he argues and convinces Rama!

Staying focussed

It is this moment at which a person needs to remain focussed. Rama displays a human quality at this time and is pulled by the strong currents of emotions…

Valmiki elaborately dramatises the agony of Rama, who runs in the wild and enquiries about Sita to every little deer, squirrel, plant, flower et al, giving vent to his anger everywhere, scoffing at the mountains, swearing at the valleys and threatening the directions with dire consequences for five long cantos. Such a strong and sagacious person as Rama loses his grip on himself and ceases to be the stoic that he used to be hereunto. Such is the loss and such is the grief that wells up in him.

After all, it was for his Sita that he undertook this adventure of going behind the deer, as any normal husband would do, to please her, she who has been going through all the travails of the jungle life never once complaining of the discomforts. If at all she had anything to complain, it was only once about Rama’s assurance to the sages to protect them from the asuras and killing them in the jungle. Even that was silenced by Rama’s firm answer. But that is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana only. And now when Sita has vanished all of a sudden, his mind runs wild and he torments himself and weeps inconsolably, his mind freezing and he forgetting the need for action. ‘I will destroy the whole universe,’ he declares in his agony.

It was Lakshmana who came to his rescue at that time and pulled him out of the morass. “People like you, who perceive everything (with their intuitive eye), do not really give way to grief even in the face of gravest perils, O Rama, but ever remain undepressed in their outlook. Discriminate between right and wrong in the true perspective by recourse to reason. Actions whose merits and demerits have not been perceived (except through the scriptures) and which are not everlasting (inasmuch as they cease after yielding fruit) cannot be performed without individual effort. And (once they are performed) their welcome as well as unwelcome fruit is inevitable (and must be reaped). ………What object of yours will be achieved) through universal destruction wrought by you? Therefore, finding out your sinful adversary, you ought to root out him alone. (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto LXVI, Sloka 15-17 and 21)

It is this moment at which a person needs to remain focussed. Rama displays a human quality at this time and is pulled by the strong currents of emotions. It is now the turn of Lakshmana to turn his mind towards action. ‘Of what avail is this lament my brother! What can we achieve by expending our energy in pointless grief and wasting our time in inaction when we have to be up and doing. We have to quickly look for evidences. It is obvious that Sita has been taken away by someone. ‘thErin aazhiyum therindhanam.’ Here do we see the wheel marks of a chariot. ‘theeNdudhal anjip paarinOdu agazhndhadhum paarthanam.’ And we see that the hermitage is missing. It is because that that person was afraid of touching Sita and has carried her away with the cottage. ‘payan indru Orum thanmai eedhuen enbadhu uran ilaadhavar pOl.’ There is no use in standing here and mulling over (letting our mind waste itself in pointless endeavours) like someone who is weak. It is for the weak to stand like this. ‘dhUram pOdhal mun thodardhum.’ Let us quickly follow the mark on earth for it can take us to the chariot in which Sita is being carried away now, before it goes far, far away!

That is the first step in reasoning and directing the energies towards action. And in a number of scenes we see Lakshmana’s mind very active, and giving conclusions very logically.

The stoic

Anybody else in the position of Lakshmana would have crumbled. On the one hand his sister-in-law accused him and on the other, here is his brother…

Think of it. Lakshmana has been very harshly reproached for disobedience by Rama, just moments ago. He had just been through a very bad patch in his life, accused by his sister-in-law whom he valued more than his own mother. And when he set out in search of his brother, put under pressure of an extreme kind, here was his brother who strongly disapproved of what he did. ‘Rama was a martinet, when it comes to matters of discipline,’ observes Srinivasa Sastriyar. He never spares anyone for disobedience, whatever be the reason or maybe, excuse.

Sastriyar says, “He (Rama) was the martinet. When he gave the order, the order must be obeyed and Lakshmana being is kinkara, his willing kinkara, had often to obey difficult orders. Twice he was driven to an impossible position. Lakshmana was the very soul of obedience, of literal obedience. And yet in order perhaps to show how life is full of difficulties for us all, how the man who commands is placed oftentimes in a difficult position and how a man who is the very soul of obedience is also placed in a very difficult position, how this world, even when we have the highest characters, one way or another puts us all in difficult situations, let me refer to this.” So saying, he goes over to quote Rama’s rebuke.

“An unbecoming act has been done by you in that you came hither without her. Though knowing me to be capable of repulsing the ogres, you came away annoyed by this angry rebuke of Sita (a princess of Mithila)! Surely I am not much pleased with you for the fact that you came hither leaving Sita (a princess of Mithila) and that (too) on hearing a harsh word uttered by an angry woman. It was wholly unjustifiable on your part that, falling a prey to anger when goaded by Sita (to leave her) you did not carry out my behest.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto 59, Sloka 21-24)

And that is a situation that is not very new to most of us. We have been through in our workaday life, caught between the boss and his or her superior, each giving an order one contradicting the other. You do this and that person would be displeased and you do that and this person would be displeased. It was not any different in the case of Lakshmana. Here was he serving the interests of his elder brother, just two days elder to him, so loyally, obediently and enthusiastically and see what he gets in return!

Anybody else in the position of Lakshmana would have crumbled. On the one hand his sister-in-law accused him of unfounded motives and on the other, here is his brother refusing to accept the reason that ‘he came in search of him because he was addressed in ‘pungent’ words.’ Notice that Lakshmana, even at this point does not tell Rama what those pungent words were!

‘You should be prepared to face everything when the duty calls,’ is what Rama conveys in the above Sloka. ‘She was angry. She was mad. It was for you to bear with her. In listening to her, you have disobeyed me. I am displeased with you.’ And after going through all this, Lakshmana has the strength to stand as firmly as ever by Rama. The great thing is he remains unaffected even when reprimanded mercilessly from two persons, and keeps cheering Rama and pushing him into action.

A tower of strength

Now there is something very interesting at this point in the story, a tinge of science – aeronautical science for that matter – which surprises us…

Rama is soon overtaken by depression, grief and self-pity. If Rama is called exemplary it is not because he remained unaffected by the calamities that visited him. He was affected very much like any of us and underwent all the turbulent ups and downs that we go through. But he is a role model in that he soon came out of them and set his mind on action rather than giving up himself into self-pity.

Strangely, self-pity and remorse are a kind of intoxicant which most of us willingly submit unto and tend to immerse ourselves in that feeling. Lakshmana comes wonderfully up and measures up to the occasion, not showing a trace of agony of the uncompromising and merciless words that Rama uttered just moments ago. “If you, O scion of Kakutstha, you are not able to endure this suffering that has befallen you, what other man, who is of the common run and of meagre strength, will bear it? Take heart, O flower of man! What living beings do calamites not visit? They impinge on a man like fire and recede in an instant. If when afflicted, you actually consume (all) the worlds with your heroic lustre, where O tiger among men, will created beings in distress get relief?” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto LXVI, Sloka 5-7)

Lakshmana stands tall like a tower of strength by the side of Rama now. In fact, he is the only source of Rama’s very existence now. From this point onwards, till they meet Sugriva, we see on numberless occasions Lakshmana comforting Rama, again and again reminding him of his core strength and the need for keeping his mind focussed on what is to be done rather than frittering the energy in pointless anger and remorse. We are soon going to see Lakshmana in action in the Ayomukhi and Kabandha incidents.

Now there is something very interesting at this point in the story, a tinge of science – aeronautical science for that matter – which surprises us. The brothers follow the track of Ravana’s chariot – pushpaka vimana – and at a particular point, they are shocked to find that the tracks are not visible any more on earth! ‘maNNin mEl avan thEr sendra suvadu elaam maayndhu,’ The track of the chariot that was visible on earth (till that point) suddenly stopped ‘viNNin Ongiya oru nilai mei uRa,’ and it could be perceived that it has taken off into the sky. If pushpaka vimana was a mere poetic concoction, how come the Poet describes the ‘vimana’ (aircraft) taxied before it took off? If it was a mere figment of imagination, by what means he knew the fact that an aircraft has to first run on earth before taking off! This something very strange and leaves us perplexed.

‘Do not give up. Push ahead,’ says Lakshmana. ‘therkku nOkkiyadhu enum poruL therindhadhu ath thiN thEr.’ It is simply obvious that that chariot was south bound. ‘vaanam virkku nOkkiya pagazhyin nedidhu andru.’ The sky is not so far away as not to be reached by our arrows. Move ahead. Let us go further.

The brothers are left without any further evidence for some distance but they soon reach the spot where Jatayu intercepted Ravana and engaged him in a fight for a long time before being killed by Ravana with the sword of Lord Shiva. Rama saw the number of diadems that were found lying on the ground and armlets that lay scattered. ‘It looks like many persons have come here and fought, going by the number of crowns,’ concluded Rama. ‘No,’ says Lakshmana. ‘It was only one person and it was Ravana and nobody else,’ he says firmly. Let’s see how he deduces and reasons out in our next instalment.

Hari Krishnan