A Tale of Loyalty, Betrayal and Faith

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A Tale of Loyalty, Betrayal and Faith

There are many ways of looking at the Ramayana. The most instructive approach

would be to focus on the epic's basic unifying theme — of loyalty and betrayal.

This theme is evident in all the three categories of protagonists — the naras,

the vanaras and the rakshasas. Prominent among the nara loyalists are Lakshmana

and Bharata.

Lakshmana's loyalty to Rama is total and unconditional, but highly personalised.

But he doesn't share Rama's passion for dharma. He even suspects collusion

between his father and stepmother, and even Bharata of hostile designs. And he

is willing to take on Dasaratha, Kaikeyi, Bharata, the whole of Ayodhya to

secure for his brother what is rightfully his — his kingdom.

Bharata is just as loyal to Rama as his younger brother but his loyalty is

firmly grounded in dharma. Unlike Lakshmana, Bharata has a mind of his own and

speaks out fearlessly, no matter who is at the receiving end — his mother, his

preceptor Vashista or Rama himself. Shaken to the core by what his mother has

done, he goes to where his brother is to bring him back.

When he fails in his mission, he returns to the outskirts of Ayodhya, enthrones

Rama's sandals, and rules for the next 14 years as Rama's representative. He

also follows an austere lifestyle to match that of his exiled brother.

Bharata's self- denial is legendary — many Vaishnava devotees from the south

regard him as the real hero of the Ramayana.

Among the rakshasa loyalists are Vibhishana and Kumbhakarna. Vibhishana is

devoted to dharma and so to Rama, the embodiment of dharma. However, his kind

of loyalty is not universally appreciated. Some consider him a traitor who

betrayed his brother and crossed over to join the enemy camp, an opportunist

who espouses the winning cause. He was so unlike his brother Kumbhakarna, who

chooses to fight on Ravana's side knowing fully well that he and his brother

both are fated to die. He refuses to desert his blood brother even though he

knows Ravana is in the wrong. Confucius would have approved.

On being told of a son who bore witness against a guilty father, the Chinese

sage is said to have remarked: "In our part of the country the son would shield

his guilty father."

Hanuman is foremost among the vanara loyalists. He lives and breathes only to

serve Rama. He is prepared to face any danger or adverse situation, fight

against enemies and do anything, all in the service of Rama. A redoubtable

warrior and a consummate diplomat among other things, Hanuman is presented

convincingly by Valmiki.

Sugreeva, the monkey king, begins as a trusted ally of Rama but soon becomes his

'dasa'. However, his role vis-a-vis his brother Vali is ambivalent, somewhat

like Vibhishana's vis-a-vis Ravana. On what ground does he conclude that the

blood that he sees gushing out of the cave-mouth is Vali's and not the demon

Mayavi's as the two slug it out inside the cave? The poet doesn't tell us.

What makes Sugreeva seal the entrance to the cave with a huge rock before

returning to Kishkinda with the tale of Vali's death? Is he driven by desire to

usurp the throne of Vali? Stricken by the sight of a brother bleeding to death

and caught in an orgiastic bout of remorse and self- accusation, Sugreeva

himself says so, while Vali for his part is inclined to take more of the blame

on himself. The poet, it would seem, blames both the brothers, one for yielding

to kama, the other to krodha. By K R NARAYANASWAMY Garu, Source:indiatimes.com

Arun Reddy Nukala

+44 7946 595063

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