Ramayana characters 1 – Kaikeyi (Trapped by Blind Belief and Baseless Doubt) – 1

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, we will be discussing about the major characters from the Ramayana, how they relate with Lord Ram and what values we can learn from them. So, this is the build up for Ram Navami and we will start with discussion about Kaikeyi.
In the Ramayana, Kaikeyi is primarily featured in the initial sections of the Ramayana, Balakanda, Yodhakanda and then the Aranyakanda. So, among all these kandas, the role of Kaikeyi shifts and initially she appears in the Ramayana as the youngest and the most favourite queen of Dashrath Maharaj. And as the youngest queen of Dashrath Maharaj, she is also the most dear to him.
Now, that doesn’t mean that Dashrath Maharaj did not love the other queens. Kaushalya was the senior most queen and Kaikeyi was the youngest. Sumitra was in between.
So, because Kaikeyi was the, Kaushalya was the senior most, she also had a special position. And Kaikeyi, because she was the youngest and she was the most dear to Dashrath Maharaj in many ways, so she also had a special position. And to some extent, this is reflected in the way the fire, the fruits of the fire sacrifice were distributed.
Now, in different yugas, when the lord’s pastimes happened, this happens in different ways. How the payasam from that was given by the celestial being who appeared at the end of the yajna, the Putrakameshti yajna that Lord Ram, that Dashrath Maharaj performed. So, the Putrakameshti yajna, the sacrifice, the fruits of that, the prasad that they got was distributed into primarily two parts.
One went to Kaushalya, the other went to Kaikeyi, and both of them gave a part of what they had got to Sumitra, the third queen. This is how the one-one son for Kaikeyi and Kaushalya and two sons for Sumitra, Ram, Bharat, Lakshmana Chhatra, respectively. Now, the character of Kaikeyi is, as I said, it oscillates within the Ramayana.
Whenever pastimes happen, in the pastimes, there is the plot that unfolds. There are events that happen, but as the events happen, the character of the characters, character means first refers to the qualities and second character refers to the people involved. So, the character of the character evolves.
Sometimes it may rise towards something higher, sometimes it may go down towards something lower, and sometimes it may go up and down also. So, how the character of a person evolves, that is something which enables us to learn how we should respond to situations. Now, Kaikeyi initially is quite devoted to Dashrath Maharaj as well as to Lord Ram, and due to her devotion to both of them, she is actually considered to be a very faithful queen and mother.
And for her, Lord Ram, Ram is as dear to her as her own son Bharat. And in Vedic culture, there was a principle of primogeniture. Primogeniture means that the oldest among the brothers would become the successor of the king and that person would become the king.
So, naturally, it was Lord Ramachandra being the oldest among the four brothers, he was entitled to become the king. And all of them, all the residents of the palace, the family members, as well as the courtiers accepted this truth. And Ram had these virtuous qualities, which entitled him to become a king in his own way.
So, Kaikeyi had accepted this truth also. And she loved it. She would herself see how all the brothers loved each other, and just as their mothers loved each other.
And the whole family was centred around pleasing Dashrath Maharaj and doing their royal responsibilities for the kingdom and the citizens therein. So, as I have titled this, with respect to Kaikeyi as trapped by blind belief and baseless doubt. So, this is what we will see that Kaikeyi had blind belief in Mathura and she had baseless doubt towards Ram and not just towards Ram, towards eventually that extended to Dashrath and to everybody who opposed what she was doing to try to discourage and dissuade her from her disastrous course of action.
Now, in general, belief and doubt work together. Sometimes, we may feel how can I have faith in God? I have not seen him. I don’t know whether he exists.
I don’t know whether the spiritual world exists. So, actually, this doubt is inevitably accompanied by a faith in the here and now. That means I can see this world.
This world is for real and there’s so much to enjoy in this world. And that’s why I focus on the world as I can see it right now in front of me. So, some people may say that it’s difficult for me to put faith in God.
But it’s not that faith itself is difficult. If we don’t have faith in God, we have to have faith in something else. If we don’t have faith in the other world, we have faith in this world.
And quite often, when the faith in this world is shaken, then the faith in the other world becomes kindled and developed gradually. So, for example, when the twin towers fell, so it is said that the number of people who started seeking God, either it was through attending churches and religious quorums or by just googling God on the net, it became reached an all-time high. Because these twin towers were the symbol of American security and success.
And when that very visible symbol came down, and that brought down with it the hope of security and success in this world, and naturally people started asking, is there something higher, something greater, something more enduring? So, faith and doubt are always coupled. Generally, when we develop doubt about God, then that is because we have too much faith in this world. And when faith in this world is shaken, that opens us to faith in God.
So, even as devotees, we may say doubt is the enemy, but in 3rd Kantakshana Bhagavatam, when the characteristics of the various elements are described. So, doubt is described as a characteristic of the intelligence. It requires an intelligent person to be doubtful.
A foolish person will believe whatever that person says. But doubt is only the beginning of intelligence. Doubt is not the end of intelligence.
So, Bhagavatam explains that by intelligence we doubt whether this world is a happiness or whether I am this body. And then gradually we move forward towards faith in a higher spiritual reality and faith in our spiritual identity also. So, in the Ramayan, through the example of Kaikeyi, how a person can become completely ruined if both go wrong.
We have faith in the wrong person and if we have doubt about the wrong things. If we have faith, and we have doubt where we should have faith, then we become completely ruined. And this sort of lunation doesn’t take necessarily a long time to come.
It can happen in just one nightmarish night. One disastrous discussion can change one’s perspective completely. So, Kaikeyi, although she is like a pampered queen to some extent in the Ramayan, a very little of any dark side of her is seen in the initial part of the Ramayan.
But in one dark night under the influence of mantra, everything changes. And the cause of that change is simply the inability to use one’s intelligence properly, to have faith in where faith should be there and to have doubt about where doubt should be there. So, we all know the story of how events transpired that led eventually to the banishment of Lord Ram.
But we will analyse those events over here from this perspective of how doubt develops and how faith develops. So, this analysis step by step can be used for us to choose to develop faith in the right things and to develop doubt about the wrong things, although what happened in Kaikeyi was exactly the opposite. So, let us look at, we will look at four major incidents.
First is the talk between Manthara and Kaikeyi. Second is the talk between Darshath Maharaj and the other citizens, others with Kaikeyi. Third is Bharat’s talking with Kaikeyi.
And fourth is Kaikeyi’s meeting with Lord Ram in the forest later on. So, in each of these incidents, we will look at the dynamics of what happens. So, Darshath Maharaj, because of getting some signals from the astrologers that some great calamity was going to come in the near future, decided that his own retirement and the transition of the throne to Lord Ramachandra should be done as expeditiously as possible.
And so, he decided to do it soon, but somehow he invited everyone, but Bharat who had been staying at his maternal uncle’s place was, the invitation to him was not sent and everything was done very fast. So, actually the whole decision happened very fast because of the inauspicious omens that Darshath Maharaj was told about by the astrologers. And then, normally this sort of event would be a major celebration which would be preceded by a lot of preparation and announcements, but that didn’t happen because of the circumstances that were there.
So, this itself became the basis by which Mantara soared the seed of doubt in Kaikeyi’s heart. So, Mantara was almost like a surrogate mother for Kaikeyi, although she was a maid servant, but she was not a typical maid servant in the sense of somebody who is just an order carrier. Now, Mantara had been a nurse for Kaikeyi right from her childhood, and when Kaikeyi had come from her father’s place to Darshath Maharaj’s place, at that time Mantara had also come along with her.
So, her relationship with Mantara was quite a long time relationship. And Mantara, although she was in a sense a maid servant, a subordinate position, but Kaikeyi indulged her in many ways. And Kaikeyi loved her not exactly like a mother, but like a nurse, a nurse who had taken care of her since childhood.
So, on this particular day, when Kaikeyi heard, when Mantara heard, she saw that all the court attendants, not the courtiers, but the court servants in terms of the palace servants, the court servants, people who were similar to her level of in the hierarchy of work, they were all very cheerful and happy. And she asked what happened? And he said, have you not heard? Lord Ram is going to be crowned as the prince regent and then soon after that be coronated as the king. So, this is what all of us have been dreaming for.
Lord Ram is such a virtuous person and we are all extremely happy that this is going to happen now. When Mantara heard this, anger coursed through her. Fear, frustration and fury all charged through her mind.
She had from a long time a hunchback and because of the hunchback, she would often be the target of the butt of jokes for others and she smarted under that insult. But when Kaikeyi had come to the palace of the Ashwath Maharaj and had become the most affectionate, most, the beloved queen of, the favourite queen, then as Kaikeyi’s position in the royal palace, royal complex became higher and my Mantara was almost like the favourite maid of Kaikeyi. So, her position also became very elevated and instead of being the butt of jokes, now she was the object of, at the very least, reluctant respect and she did not want to lose that position.
So, she, instead of thinking about how Lord Ram’s elevation to the position of Prince Rajendran, eventually the prince, the king, would be beneficial for everyone, beneficial for the whole family, beneficial for the kingdom and for the world. She saw it only from her own perspective and she was trapped in the mentality of I am I. Naturally, all of us, we have to take care of ourselves but our taking care of ourselves doesn’t mean that we have to do it at the cost of others. When a person is in transcendence, that person may sacrifice what is good for himself or herself for the sake of others.
When a person is in goodness, the person wants to share whatever that person has equally with others. So, when a person is in passion, that person doesn’t mind sharing but I should get the best and others can get the rest. When a person is ignorance, the person is I should get everything and others should get nothing.
So, the Janasi Moho Mahammamedhi, that worldview makes us often a source of trouble for others if we are influenced by the mode of ignorance. So, Manthira saw the event of Lord Ram’s ascension to the throne simply in her own self-centric, tamasic terms where she saw that, oh, my privileged position in the royal palaces will be lost because if Ram becomes the king, then Ashwath Maharaj will no longer be the king and Kaikeyi will no longer be the favourite queen of the king and I will no longer be the favourite maidservant of the favourite queen of the king. That position may go to some maidservant of Sita or whatever.
I will no longer have that position. And on the other hand, in her evil mind, she thought that if Bharat were to become the king, then because Kaikeyi would be the king’s mother and she would be the king’s mother’s maidservant, her position would be at least in some way be retained or her position would become even more consolidated. So, with these thoughts, she rushed to the palace of Kaikeyi.
When she came to the palace of Kaikeyi, Kaikeyi was sitting peacefully on her throne. Manthira hissed out to her, what are you doing sitting here like this passively? Now, Kaikeyi knew that Manthira had a habit of being irritable and she did not take her foul mood too seriously. She said, oh tell me what is the matter? Oh Manthira, Manthira blurted out in rage, do you not know that there is a conspiracy afoot to ruin you and you are just sitting foolishly passively.
Do something. What is the matter? Kaikeyi asked, slightly concerned. She said, Ram is going to be coronated as the prince regent tomorrow morning, just a few hours away from now.
Her voice was filled with panic. On hearing this, Kaikeyi’s eyes lit up, a broad smile spread across her face and she took out a necklace that she was wearing and she gave it to Manthira. Oh Manthira, this is the best news that you have given me in my entire life till now.
Thank you very much. Here is a reward for you. And Manthira just scowled, took that jewel necklace and threw it on the ground.
This is not a time to celebrate. It is a time when disaster is approaching. Kaikeyi’s eyes showed a confusion.
Why disaster? Ram, he is the oldest of the sons and he deserves to become the king. I am happy for him. Manthira’s exasperation and frustration overflowed.
Oh foolish woman, do you not understand that if Ram becomes the king, then that means Bharat cannot become the king. Bharat will have to become the servant of Ram. Kaikeyi was nonchalant.
No, they are brothers and they will love each other. There is no need to fear about this. When Manthira saw that, talking about what her son would lose was not having any effect on Ram.
Kaikeyi, she decided to play her trump card and she decided to fuel the latent jealousy that was bound to be there between the co-wives of Dakshat Maharaj. He said, do you not know that Kaushalya will have been just plotting for such an opportunity? And you became the favourite queen of Dakshat Maharaj from that time onwards. Kaushalya must have been burning in anger and envy.
For you had displaced her from her position as the king’s favourite queen. And now that her son will become the prince regent, she will take revenge upon you. And she knew you will have from being the queen, you will have to become the maid servant of Kaushalya.
Slight bit of insecurity came up in Kaikeyi’s mind, but she suppressed it. She said, what are you speaking? If somebody else had spoken like this, I would have punished them. Never hold such evil thoughts.
Mantara was not to be silenced. She said, you still do not understand? If there were no conspiracy afoot, if there was nothing evil, then why is it that this festival is being held in the absence of Bharat? Why has Bharat been sent outside the kingdom and during his absence, suddenly Ram is being made into the prince regent? And Kaikeyi started thinking. And from this point onwards, as soon as Mantara saw the doubt that had crept into Kaikeyi’s eyes, she knew that she had found the opening.
And then Mantara kept speaking, speaking, speaking, speaking, slowly poisoning the mind of Kaikeyi till her perceptions became completely distorted. Kaikeyi was known to be kind, gentle and sweet-spoken. And on the other hand, she became cruel, evil and harsh, harsh-spoken.
It’s the exact opposite. Actually, she was kind, wise and gentle-spoken. She became cruel, foolish and harsh-spoken.
So, one is the faculty of the heart, what is it called? Heart, head and speech. All three became perverted. Her heart, instead of being kind, became cruel.
Her head, instead of being wise, became foolish. And her speech, instead of being gentle, became harsh. So, in this way, by the time the early morning came, as Kaikeyi kept on hearing Mantara’s tirade, her perceptions became completely perverted.
And she bought into whatever arguments Kaushalya, Mantara was making. Mantara told her, what is this? Mantara was just waiting for Kaushalya, what is the way out? How can I come out of this? Mantara’s evil mind had already hatched a plot. She said that, sent Ram out to exile for 14 years.
By this, this 14-year period will give time for Bharata to regain the kingdom. Not just regain the kingdom in terms of becoming the prince, regent or the king, but also winning over the loyalty of the Ayodhya Vasis. And then, Kaikeyi, as she kept speaking, speaking, speaking, and in what effect Dashrath Maharaj came over to her.
Actually, all this conversation started in the evening and it went on till late night. Dashrath Maharaj, after attending to the various duties that needed to be performed in preparation of the festival the next day, finally he came to his palace and he went to the chambers of his favourite queen right away. And when he came to the chamber of Kaikeyi, he wanted to share the joy of the announcement with her.
But he was informed that she was in the mourning chambers. He was dismayed to hear this. He says, this is a moment for celebration.
And normally, when we are happy, we want to share our joy with others. And if at the moment of our happiness, somebody else is miserable, either one of the two emotions goes. Either if the miserable person shares the joy of the happy person, that person’s misery goes away.
Or if that miserable person’s joy has happened, his misery is too great and the happy person’s happiness goes away. So, Dashrath Maharaj, in concern, came to the mourning chamber of Kaikeyi, where she was lying on the ground, looking to be agonised. And at this point, Dashrath Maharaj asked Kaikeyi, what happened? Who has wronged you? Please tell me and I will correct it.
So, before we look into this series of incidents more in detail, the first part is blind belief and baseless doubts. So, the first stage happened when by holding on to some kind of straw, some baseless, riddleless sort of circumstantial occurrences, Kaikeyi allowed the seed of doubt to be planted in her heart. The doubt about Brahm that he put almost unquestioning faith in Mantra.
So, Mantra in many ways represents bad association and bad association can make us have doubts where there is actually no reason for doubts. And on the other hand, it can also make us lose faith when there is actually not much reason to lose faith. So, both these happened.
And once we have got into a particular way of looking at things, then everything that everyone does simply reinforces our pre-existing conceptions. This is what was going to happen to Kaikeyi now. Whatever events are going to transpire, however, whoever behaves, instead of that causing her to have second thoughts about her demands, she perceived everything through her coloured spectacles, which made her see everybody’s every demand from that perspective only.
And she saw everybody as a threat to her well-being. So, when Dashrath Maharaj asked, what is the matter? So, Kaikeyi would look so disconsolate and Dashrath Maharaj was in such a mood of joy that he felt that he should do something to remove her misery. And therefore, he said, he actually took three vows in the name of Ram.
He said that Ram who is most dear to me, in his name, I will do whatever it takes to remove your misery. In the name of that Ram, without whom my life will go away, I vow to do whatever you ask me to do. In the name of that Lord Ram, who is more dear to me than life itself, I will remove the cause of your grief, whatever it may be.
So, when Kaikeyi heard this, at that time, she understood that her plan was going to be successful. The Mahabharata, Ramayana describes how Dashrath Maharaj was like an animal of prey walking right into a trap. So, the apparent anger, the displeasure, the misery that Kaikeyi had displayed was meant to arouse Dashrath Maharaj’s sympathy and to cloud his thinking thereby.
So, although Dashrath Maharaj had made these vows that I will do what you want, Kaikeyi wanted to make sure that nothing would go wrong with her plan. So, actually, it was not her plan. It was Manthara’s plan.
But Manthara had sold that plan to her. Sorry. And now that plan had become her own plan.
So, actually, sometimes the mind proposes certain desires to us. Why don’t you do that? Why don’t you enjoy this way? Why don’t you go and do that? So, actually, as long as the mind is speaking in the second person, we are safe. We are not so much in danger.
But when the mind sells its plans to us, when we accept that plan, then we are lost for all practical purposes. So, this is what happened now. Actually, hereafter, once Kaikeyi buys into Manthara’s arguments, it is not described anywhere in the Ramayan that Kaikeyi goes and repeatedly consults Manthara.
What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? Actually, she becomes so possessed by a maniac obsession that she just thinks whatever is required and schemes and argues and speaks in ways that cut other people’s hearts. But she just goes on, blinded to what anybody else is feeling. Blinded and deadened to what anybody else is feeling.
So, Kaikeyi amidst her external sobs and her internal schemes, wanted to make sure that her plan would not go wrong. And therefore, she told Ashutosh Maharaj, remember long ago you had given me two vows that whatever I have, two things that I would ask from you, you will provide me. Ashutosh Maharaj remembered.
He said, yes, surely, whatever you want, I will give you. Kaikeyi steeled herself. She spoke, the first thing I want is that Bharat should become the princely youth and second is that Ram should go to the forest for 14 years.
Ashutosh Maharaj felt the ground under him slipping away. He felt his heart tumbling to the bottom of his legs. He felt darkness enveloping him in all his sides.
He couldn’t believe what Kaikeyi was speaking. He felt that this was a nightmare from which he would wake up and he would feel that nothing was happening with this. What are you speaking? What has happened to you? How can you ask for such a thing? Ashutosh Maharaj, the more he protested, opposed, it only reinforced Kaikeyi’s preconception that there was a conspiracy afoot to deprive Bharat and to deprive her.
And therefore, she became all the more cold. Instead of commiserating, sympathising with Ashutosh Maharaj’s agony, his agony instead served to confirm her suspicion that he felt that Ashutosh Maharaj was also in a collusion of conspiracy to deprive her. She became all the more cold and he said, you have made a promise to me and how can you back out on this promise? And as Ashutosh Maharaj realised that what was happening was for real, that he was going to lose, his beloved son and his whole world was going to be turned upside down.
He just sank on the ground, falling unconscious. Instead of calling anyone, any maidservant or any physician or any assistant to take care of Ashutosh Maharaj to get him to be revived, Kaikeyi just coldly waited for him. And Ashutosh Maharaj came back to consciousness.
He looked at Kaikeyi’s cold eyes and stiff features and realised that the nightmare was for real. It was not that something he had dreamt and he was going to come out of it. And he said that he was trying to look for some way out.
Finally, he begged her, he said that if you want Bharat to be the prince regent, it will be the thing that is okay with me, I will do it right away. But how has Ram harmed you in any way? Why do you want Ram to lose the kingdom? Why do you want him to not just lose the kingdom in terms of not being the prince regent, but have to go out of the kingdom to be exiled? No, I cannot live without Ram. Please let him stay here.
Let Bharat be the king, but let Ram stay in the palace with me. Dashrath Maharaj was desperately trying to hold on to some little consolation, some little reassurance that everything that was dear to him was not going to be lost. And he begged to Kaikeyi, please let Ram stay.
But again, because of her perspective being warped by Kaikeyi, Dashrath Maharaj’s request only confirmed what Kaikeyi had said, what Mantara had told him. Mantara had told him that if Ram is there in the kingdom, then Bharat will not accept the kingdom even if he is offered it. And somehow if you persuade him to accept the kingdom, still he will be lost because everybody else will be opposed.
Everybody will compare Ram and Bharat and they will feel that Ram was more worthy and Ram was cheated. So, first of all, he will not accept the kingdom. Even if he accepts, the people will not accept him as the king.
And therefore, he will not be able to rule. Therefore, it is vital that you make sure that Ram goes out of the kingdom. When Ram goes out, then Bharat by his rule, by his generosity, by his qualities, will be able to win over everyone and then he can rule.
In that way, he can become stabilised as a ruler. So, Kaikeyi glanced coldly at Dashrath Maharaj and she said, you are the descendant of the great Raghuvansha and all your ancestors have been famous for keeping their word. Will you, O king, go against the word of your ancestors and will you act in cowardly ways by which you will become a stigma for your whole dynasty and that too after you have given your word to me, you had long ago given your word to me, fulfilled two vows and today again, you promised that you would fulfil these vows.
Will you go against me? When Dashrath Maharaj had made the commitments, he had no idea what he would be asked for, that someday Kaikeyi would ever demand such a thing from him and he was mortified, agonised, devastated, not knowing what to do. As night passed, Kaikeyi remained cold and unrelenting and Dashrath Maharaj alternately fell unconscious, came back to consciousness, begged to Kaikeyi, but Kaikeyi’s heart had become completely cold, desensitised towards suffering that she was causing to her own husband. Finally, as the morning came about, Sumantra, the minister of Dashrath Maharaj, who had been serving the king for a long, long time, he came to the royal palace to take the king, to inform the king about various activities that were to be done during the day for the festival, for the celebration, for the event to go off nicely.
And when he saw Dashrath Maharaj’s head dishevelled, his face looking morbid, his eyes looking like dark pigs, his life almost seemed to have left his body, he knew something was terribly wrong. Sumantra offered his respects to Dashrath Maharaj and he was allowed to speak and he was trying to control the foreboding, feeling that something greatly evil was about to happen. Before he could speak anything, Kaikeyi said, the king wants to see Ram.
Please bring him, please ask him to come here. Sumantra looked in surprise at Dashrath Maharaj. Now, would Dashrath Maharaj himself not go to Ram’s palace and take him to the arena where the celebrations were taking place, where the day’s ceremonies were going to happen? He looked from Kaikeyi to Dashrath Maharaj and Dashrath Maharaj to Kaikeyi and then he says, please go.
Dashrath Maharaj mutely consented. Sumantra felt disturbed but keeping his calm, he went to Lord Ram’s palace where he was there with Sita and Sita was jubiling. She had performed the worship of Lord Vishnu the previous day and she was waiting for this day when her husband would become the prince regent of the king eventually.
So, Sumantra came and he said that the king wants to see you. So, Ram nodded to Sita and he told that my father probably wants to discuss some things about today’s ceremonies and Sita as Lord Ram left, she invoked the blessings of the Lord. She invoked blessings of the Supreme Lord.
Now, in the past times of the Lord, Lord Ram in the past, Lord Ram has acted as the supreme being. So, he is playing the role of a human being. Sita prayed to the gods that Lord Ram who is going now, let him go to the palace and when he comes back, let him be crowned as the prince regent and as he departed, he came to the palace of Vaishnav Maharaj in the royal chariot and he got on the chariot and entered.
When he entered, he could immediately see that there was dark tension, atmosphere of fear and dismay that filled the palace of Kaikeyi and he could see that there was his father was looking very distressed. Ram felt troubled by seeing this and he went and offered his respects to his father and then to Kaikeyi and he says, how can I serve you? What can I do for you? And then Dashrath Maharaj just looked at Ram and he spoke Ram, Ram and no further words would come. Then he turned to Kaikeyi and he said, what is the cause of this great distress that my father is going through? Kaikeyi looked boldly in the eyes of Ram and said, you are the cause.
Lord Ram calmed himself against the dart that shot through his body at the words of Kaikeyi and still embracing himself, he said, please tell me how I have distressed my father and what can I do to remove his distress? Whatever he tells I will do immediately. I cannot see my father in such distress. The king wants you to do certain something.
Kaikeyi bowed into Ram with a glance. The king wants you to do something which he feels that you will not be ready to do and that is why he is in this condition. He says, whatever my father wants, I will do immediately.
What is the need for any doubt or distress in this matter? Please tell me if my father doesn’t want to tell me, you please tell me and then Kaikeyi told that how she had two benedictions to ask for and she had asked for those two benedictions that you should go to the forest for 14 years and Bharat become the king. Lord Ram did not even blink an eye without showing any emotion at all. He said, so that is all that my father wants.
I will do it immediately. He does not distress me that I have to lose the kingdom. He says, what distresses me is that for such a small thing as a kingdom, my father had to go through such a misery.
I had always, he looked at Kaikeyi and he said to her, I had always thought of you as my mother and today it distresses me that you never thought of me as your son, because if you had accepted me as your son, then you would just have directly told me to go to the forest and let Bharat become the king and I would have immediately accepted it. So, Lord Ram’s guileless devotion, not just Ram to Dadashrath, but even to Kaikeyi, this should have melted her heart. But Kaikeyi’s heart had become, she had become so locked into her own way of looking at things that nothing could shake her.
And she said, well, it is best that you do not delay. You delay immediately and we will discuss later about how Lakshman and Sita both insisted that we will also come with you. But as the day progressed, the morning went in, morning progressed into the day, the news spread like water spreads in an ocean during a tsunami sweeping everywhere in the kingdom that Ram had been banished and Dashrath, Bharat was to become the king.
And all of Ayodhya was lamenting and finally, Lord Ram came with Sita and Lakshman to see off to say a final farewell to his father. And when Dashrath Maharaj saw that actually what he had been having nightmares about for the last several hours was actually going to happen, he could take it no more. And he said, oh Ram, please do not go, please do not leave me and go away.
So Lord Ram said, it is your word of honour and I will keep it. So Dashrath Maharaj said, please stay for one day. Lord Ram saw the cold fury that was evident on the face of Kaikeyi and he said, you know, if a life of austerity has to be embraced, then why delay it? Let me start it off today itself.
And then as Lord Ram was about to leave, Kaikeyi’s heart had become so cold. She said that if you are going to the forest, then you do not need any royal robes. You should go as an ascetic in the forest.
And Lord Ram had earlier worn ascetic robes when he had gone to the forest with Vishwamitra. But Sita had never worn any ascetic robes and Kaikeyi had already arranged for ascetic robes for all of them. And Ram and Lakshman wore the ascetic robes but Sita just did not know how to wear them.
And seeing Sita’s tender, gentle form and thinking that her form would now be draped with tree bark, the hearts of all the residents of the palace broke into a million pieces. And Sumantra tried to remonstrate Kaikeyi. She says, what are you doing? You are plunging the whole kingdom into agony.
Can’t you see what you are doing right now? Please stop. Kaikeyi, the more somebody tried to persuade her, she only felt that all those people were in a conspiracy to try to deprive her of her rights in the kingdom. And she turned a deaf ear towards them.
She not only turned a deaf ear, but she turned an unfeeling heart towards them. And after that, finally Lord Ram, seeing the bewilderment of Sita and seeing those tree bark, he himself put the tree bark around her body. And at that time even Vasishtha, who was the priest of Ashwath Maharaj, he also felt his heart breaking and he tried to speak strong words to bring Kaikeyi back to her senses.
But nothing could change Kaikeyi’s mind. And finally, Ashwath Maharaj, seeing that dreaded moment had now come, he told Sumantra, he said, if Ram is going out of the forest, then send out chariots and elephants and horses to the forest, send out soldiers and workers and arrange to clear the forest and not only let the workers and soldiers go, but I will also go. And we will all go and reside in the forest and we will convert the forest into a yodhya and let a yodhya become a forest and let Kaikeyi rule the forest.
When Kaikeyi heard this, her fury became evident in her eyes and the fury of her density of her speech and she said, you had promised me the kingdom and the forest to Ram. Will you disgrace your ancestors by twisting around the words? Bharat should become the king of the kingdom with all its resources and Ram should go to the bare forest. Seeing Kaikeyi so bent on her evil purpose with not the slightest feeling of even basic humanity, leave alone maternal affection, Ashwath Maharaj exploded in anger.
And he said, I am bound by my word to do what is happening now, but from now on, after this word is done, I reject you as my wife. I have nothing to do with you henceforth. You are no longer my wife.
Now, even this explosion of Ashwath Maharaj, rather than bringing Kaikeyi to her senses, she saw neither the prospect that she would be disowned by her husband. She did not see the heartbreak that she was causing to the husband, which was the cause of him speaking such words. She only saw that this is a conspiracy and somehow or the other, my rights are being deprived and I am being threatened to give up my rights.
And in this way, Kaikeyi just looked coldly at Ashwath Maharaj and spoke nothing. And finally, Lord Ram departed for the forest. So, we will continue our discussion tomorrow and we will discuss about the remaining two incidents where Kaikeyi’s character is further revealed.
First is her meeting with Bharat Maharaj. With Bharat and then her talk with Lord Ram in the forest when Bharat goes to the forest.