O Infinite One
How does one worship you?
Do we praise your deeds?
Or do we recite the scriptures?
—From Bhaye Prakat Kripala of the sixteenth-century saint Tulsidas
Between destiny and desire
Before Ram, Dashratha had a daughter by Kaushalya. Her name was Shanta. Shanta’s story is not found in Valmiki’s Ramayana but can be pieced together from bits of information scattered across the Mahabharata and other regional retellings of Ram’s tale.
Rishyashringa’s curse
Angry with the clouds that had released rain and made him wet, a Rishi called Rishyashringa forbade the clouds from releasing any more rain. Rishyashringa could do this because he practiced tapasya, or absolute restraint of the senses, which included celibacy. In fact, so intense was his tapasya, that he had never seen a woman in his entire life. The resulting tapa or spiritual heat that he generated gave him siddhi or magical powers with which he could subvert the laws of nature. The only way to put an end to the drought that followed Rishyashringa’s curse was to get him married. ‘So long as he has no knowledge of women, the drought will continue,’ the gods told a local king called Lompada. But Lompada had no daughter who could turn this hermit into a householder. So he turned to Dashratha, king of Ayodhya, who allowed Lompada to adopt his daughter, Shanta. Succeeding in arousing Rishyashringa’s curiosity, Shanta made him her husband and with that the rains returned to Lompada’s kingdom once more.
The story of Shanta and Rishyashringa is significant because it transforms the Ramayana into a householder’s epic. It does not look down upon the material world. In fact, it frowns upon monastic practices that reject all things worldly.
The world may be ever-changing and full of uncertainties, but walking away is not the answer. World-rejection, according to the epic, is dangerous and destructive. That is why the rains fall and the earth blooms only when Rishyashringa embraces a woman and becomes a husband. It is this stance of the Ramayana that has led to its classification as iti-hasa which literally translated means ‘so-it-was, is and will be’. The Ramayana reflects on the problem of the human condition, of how desire and destiny make the world impermanent and tragic. It also offers the solution by showing us how to live a spiritually fulfilled life through responsible conduct.
Though Dashratha seems to have fathered Shanta without any difficulty, he is unable to father any more children. Dharma insists that a man must father a son and continue his lineage and that a king must produce an heir for the throne. A desperate Dashratha therefore marries a second and a third time. When despite his numerous marriages he remains bereft of a male heir, he decides to perform a yagna and compel the gods to give him a child to carry the line of the solar-kings forward. The Rishi who is called to perform the yagna is none other than Rishyashringa, subtly implying that the Rishi’s tapasya not only caused the drought in Lompada’s kingdom, but also the barrenness in Dashratha’s household. Rishyashringa’s yagna gives sons to Dashratha, just as his marriage gave rains to Lompada.
Three wives and a yagna
Kaushalya was Dashratha’s first wife. After bearing him a daughter, Shanta, she gave birth to no more children. So Dashratha married Kaikeyi, princess of Kekaya. It was foretold that Kaikeyi would bear a great son and her father gave her hand in marriage to Dashratha only after Dashratha promised that Kaikeyi’s son would be his heir. Unfortunately, Kaikeyi did not bear any children, let alone sons. Finally, Dashratha married a third time. But even the third queen, Sumitra, bore no children. A frustrated and desperate Dashratha decided to perform a yagna that would please the Devas and compel them to give him a son, one who would follow him to the throne. So, the sage Rishyashringa was invited and he performed an elaborate yagna. As the yagna drew to a close, a celestial being rose from the fire-pit. Dark and dressed in red, he offered Dashratha a vessel containing a celestial potion. ‘Offer this to your wives and they will bear divine sons,’ said the being before disappearing. A very happy Dashratha, immediately rushed to his wives and divided the magic potion between his senior queen, Kaushalya, and his favourite queen, Kaikeyi. Both of them divided their share and gave one half each to Sumitra, the junior queen. As a result, the three queens gave birth to four sons. Vasishtha named Kaushalya’s son, Ram, Kaikeyi’s son, Bharata, and Sumitra’s twins, Lakshman and Shatrughna. Lakshman born from the share given by Kaushalya to Sumitra grew up devoted to Ram while Shatrughna born from the share given by Kaikeyi to Sumitra grew up devoted to Bharata.
The yagna represents Dashratha’s refusal to surrender to a childless fate and is a choreographed expression of Dashratha’s intense desire to be a father. The Ramayana thus reveals a potent force governing samsara—kama or desire. Desire transforms Rishyashringa from hermit to householder. Desire causes rain to fall. Desire makes Dashratha a father.
But while desire is necessary, it is also destructive. It is desire that makes Dashratha give two boons to his favourite queen, the beautiful Kaikeyi, which results in the exile of Ram. The entire Ramayana anchors itself on the story of Dashratha offering Kaikeyi two boons. Had this not happened, there would have been no exile of Ram, no abduction of Sita and no war with Ravana. Ram would have been just one of the many kings of the illustrious Surya-vamsa or solar dynasty.
Two boons
On the eve of Ram’s coronation, Dashratha learnt that his favourite queen Kaikeyi had locked herself in the chamber of despair. He rushed to her side and found her wailing, rolling on the ground, hair unbound, bereft of flowers and jewels. ‘Give me the two boons you promised me long ago,’ she said. ‘Make my son, Bharata, king of Ayodhya and order Ram to live as a hermit in the forest for fourteen years.’
Why does Dashratha give Kaikeyi this boon in the first place? Was it just a whim, the desire to please his beloved, or a sense of obligation when she saved his life in battle?
Kaikeyi to the rescue
Kaikeyi once joined Dashratha on his war chariot when the Devas summoned him to join them in their fight with the Asuras. In the middle of this battle, the axle of the chariot broke. The chariot would have surely toppled but for Kaikeyi’s timely intervention. She leaned over the side of the chariot and used her arm to replace the broken axle. Dashratha was so grateful to Kaikeyi that he offered her two boons, anything she wished. Kaikeyi told her husband that she would ask for these boons at an appropriate time.
Dashratha feels so indebted by Kaikeyi’s actions that he lavishes her with affection by offering to give her whatever she desires. She desires nothing, she clarifies, content to save her husband’s life. ‘But when you do, I will grant it to you. Not one, but two wishes,’ says Dashratha, indulgently. The Ramayana holds this lack of royal discipline as the root cause of turmoil.
Years later, after Manthara, the maid, stokes the flames of insecurity and ambition, Kaikeyi finally asks for her boons.
Manthara’s tirade
Kaikeyi’s maid, Manthara, was furious when she learnt that Ram was to be crowned king, and that too when Bharata was away at his maternal uncle’s home. Had Kaikeyi’s father not given Kaikeyi’s hand in marriage only after Dashratha assured him that her son would follow him to the throne? Incensed, she strode into Kaikeyi’s chambers only to find the queen celebrating the news of Ram’s coronation. ‘He is like my own son,’ Kaikeyi said. Manthara beat her chest, banged her head against the wall and spat out all the venom in her heart. At the end of her tirade, Kaikeyi was convinced that her husband had wronged her. When her husband would depart to the forest, she, the palace favourite, and her son would be at the mercies of Ram and his mother. Having finally made her mistress see her way, Manthara advised Kaikeyi on how she could remedy the situation.
Manthara symbolizes the dark side of kama or desire and how it breeds unhappiness, suspicion and anxiety. She casts aspersions on Dashratha’s integrity: why was the coronation taking place while Bharata was away at his maternal uncle’s house? Given this, Kaikeyi’s first boon, that Bharata should be
made king in place of Ram, seems fair, even appropriate. It ensures that Dashratha does not go back on his promise to Kaikeyi’s father.
But why did Kaikeyi have to ask for the second boon, insisting that Ram go to the forest? The simplest answer given is that Kaikeyi did not want any rivals to the throne around when her son was crowned king. But then why was the exile given for a finite period of time? Why only fourteen years? Why not forever?
The purpose is revealed in Ramopakhyan, the tale of Ram narrated by Rishi Markandeya to the Pandavas in the epic Mahabharata.
Gandharvi Manthara
Brahma, father of all living creatures, directed a Gandharvi to descend on earth as Manthara and poison the mind of Kaikeyi so that Ram would be forced to leave Ayodhya and live in the forest for fourteen years where he could rid the world of Rakshasas and their king, Ravana, thus making the world a safer place.
A new dimension is thus revealed: karma or destiny. Ram is no mere prince; he is God destined to walk the earth to rid the forest of demons. Kaikeyi’s ambition and Dashratha’s integrity were merely tools to make this happen. With this story, Ram’s exile is no longer a tragedy but a necessity.
Thus the birth of Ram is not just desired by Dashratha, it is also pre-destined. Vishnu, who is God, descends on earth with the intention of killing Ravana. Dashratha’s yagna gives him a timely conduit to descend on earth. Vishnu is accompanied by his serpent, Adi-Sesha, who is born as Lakshman, his discus who is born as Bharata and his conch-shell who is born as Shatrughna. Other gods join him too, later in the epic, as he prepares to fight Ravana. Brahma descends as the bear Jambavan and Shiva descends as Hanuman. But mortal eyes, unaware of divinity’s grand plan, weep on learning of Ram’s fate.
People of Ayodhya
News that Ram was not going to be king and that he was instead ordered to spend fourteen years in the forest as a hermit was met with disbelief in Ayodhya. The people gathered around the palace to find out if this was true. They let out a wail when they saw the obedient young prince stepping out with his wife and brother dressed in clothes of bark. Behind him was the king clearly distraught. The king’s charioteer, companion and chief advisor, Sumantra, brought out the royal chariot. ‘Ride on this till the city gates at least,’ he said. Ram agreed if only to make his way through the crowds of people who were blocking the streets. ‘Don’t go. Don’t go,’ they cried. They screamed and shouted and cursed Kaikeyi. But they all calmed down when they saw Ram’s face and realized he did not appreciate such a display of rage. ‘If Ram will not be our king, we will not stay in Ayodhya,’ said the people. When Ram alighted from the chariot and started walking towards the forest, all the people of Ayodhya followed him. Ram realized that they would not leave his side. So at night, when everyone was asleep, he slipped away. Sumantra tried to follow him but Ram respectfully requested Sumantra to return to Ayodhya and serve his father who needed him more. He also begged Sumantra to tell his people to treat all his mothers, Kaikeyi included, with love and respect. With a heavy heart, Sumantra finally turned around, overwhelmed by the young prince’s magnanimity.
As he watched Ram go, a heartbroken Dashratha wondered why he had to suffer so. At this, his guru, Vasishtha, reminded him of an event which took place long ago.
Shravana-kumar
During a hunt, Dashratha heard a sound which he assumed was made by a deer drinking water. Without bothering to check, Dashratha shot an arrow in the direction of the sound and discovered, to his horror, that he had struck a boy who was collecting water from the pond. The boy, Shravana, was the only child and caregiver of his old blind parents. When the old couple learnt of their son’s fate, they cursed Dashratha that he, like them, would lose his son and die of the heartache that would follow.
Ram’s exile then becomes just the fulfilment of the curse of Shravana’s parents—an event that was supposed to happen.
In Hindu mythology, curses and boons are narrative tools to explain the concept of karma. The law of karma states that one’s action has a reaction that one is obliged to experience if not in this life then in the next. Boons represent punya, a good action that results in a good reaction while curses represent paap, a bad action that results in a bad reaction. By saving her husband’s life, Kaikeyi does a punya for which she gets two boons while by killing Shravana, Dashratha does paap for which he pays dearly. Paap and punya determine all events in this ever-changing world known as samsara. Nothing in samsara is spontaneous. Everything is the result of something else. All events are bound to happen.
The Ramayana reflects how people respond to such pre-destined events of life. Sometimes, one must surrender to fate just as Dashratha did when Ram left for the forest. But at other times, one must fight back like Dashratha did when he was unable to father a child after the birth of Shanta. Not only did he marry two more women, he also performed a destiny-subverting ritual.
Destiny and desire, karma and kama, are the two forces that propel the world. Destiny is a reaction, an obligation that follows an action. Desire is an aspiration that forces the world to transform in a particular way. Destiny creates fate. Desire is based on free will. We have the freedom to accept life as it is or to make it the way we want it to be. That is what makes us Manavas or humans.
Kaikeyi had the option of not saving her husband’s life. She did it nevertheless. Dashratha had the option of not giving her two boons. He did it nevertheless. Kaikeyi had the option of never asking for those boons. She did it nevertheless. Dashratha had the option of turning down her boons. He, however, chose to keep his word. That is why Ram was exiled. At the same time, Ram’s exile was destined. Having killed Shravana, Dashratha’s heart had to be broken. And Vishnu had to, as Ram, kill Ravana and this could only happen if he left Ayodhya. Thus the exile of Ram, like all things in this world, is both destined and desired.
Desire and destiny make life unpredictable and uncertain. When things change constantly, people feel insecure. When nothing is permanent, there is frustration and sorrow. In despair and disgust, humans withdraw from society and become hermits, trying to break free and understand the point of it all. But there is another choice, another way to live, states the Ramayana. It is the code of conduct known as dharma.
The word ‘dharma’ is derived from the root ‘dhr’ which means ‘to uphold or stabilize or make secure’. It is a manmade construct that creates civilization. Civilization is essentially a shelter from the world’s impermanent and unpredictable nature. It is created when humans, unlike animals, look beyond self-preservation and self-propagation. It is created when the beneficiary of human action is not just the self, but others around us. One way of creating civilization is to do one’s duty, not what one wants for oneself but what one is expected to do for the larger good.
When Dashratha agrees to fulfil Kaikeyi’s wishes, it is certainly not for his own happiness. His reason is most eloquently expressed by Goswami Tulsidas in his celebrated sixteenth century work, the Ram-charit-manas:
Raghukula riti sada chali aai, prana jahu,
baru bachanu na jaaee
So has been the way of my ancestors: give
up your life but never your word
In a world where people do what they want, keeping promises only when it suits them, there are no guarantees, hence no sense of security, and in other words, no civilization. As king, it is Dashratha’s duty to establish civilization. He is therefore expected to keep his word, even if it means sending his faultless son into exile. Dashratha makes this difficult choice.
Ram leaves Ayodhya, not because it is his destiny and not because it is his desire, but because it is his duty. He must do what sons are supposed to do, especially since he is the member of the royal family, an example to his subjects.
By choosing dharma, Dashratha and his son conquer the vagaries of life created by karma and kama. They create a society where people are liberated from feeling helpless before fate, and from being overwhelmed by free will. The desire to withdraw from the world and become hermits wa
nes. Under the responsible mantle of the king and his son, hermits become householders, unafraid to face this world of no guarantees.
3
Vishwamitra’s Student
O Chief of Raghus!
No one else but you bestows me with affection
None but you protects me
O Lord of the Universe!
Most exalted among men!
Who else but you
Would have donated Lanka to Vibhishana
To the delight of Indra and others?
Who else but you
Would have followed Vishwamitra from Ayodhya
And protected his sacrifice from desecration
By Maricha and others?
Who else but you
Could have killed the mighty Vali
With a single arrow
And crowned Sugriva, the king of Kishkindha?
Please hold the hand of innocent Tyagaraja
Enable him to cross
This ocean of worldly problems
—From the songs of the eighteenth-century Tamil poet-singer Tyagaraja
Facing worldly reality
Ram is educated by two Rishis: first Vasishtha and then Vishwamitra. Rishis are tapasvins, ascetics imbued with the power of tapa, which is heat generated through celibacy and other forms of sensory withdrawal. Tapa grants them the magical power known as siddhi.
Vasishtha is born a Rishi, created by Brahma himself, and is one of the seven primal custodians of Vedic wisdom. Vishwamitra, by contrast, is born a warrior who becomes a Rishi later in life by performing tapasya. Vishwamitra’s approach to life is radically different from that of Vasishtha, so different in fact, that the Puranas portray the two Rishis as rivals.