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Ramayan of valmiki and kamban-Ayodhya kanda-12. Rama leaves Ayodhya

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12.Rama leaves Ayodhya

 

Dasarata ordered Sumanthra to bring the chariot for Rama to go to forest.

Rama went round his father and mother with Lakshmana and Seetha and bowed down to them and bade hem goodbye. Lakshmana bowed down to his mother Sumithra who blessed him and said,

Srshtasthvam vanavaasaaya svaanurakthaH suhrjjnae

 

"You have been given birth for the purpose of going to forest ." What she meant was that the purpose of life of Lakshmana is to serve Rama. She further said that Rama is the sole resort for Lakshmana whether in prosperity or in distress and it is his duty to follow the command of Rama as it is the dharma of his clan. Then she uttered the famous lines,

raamam dhasaraTham vidDhi maam vidDhi janakakaathjaam

ayoDhyaam ataveem vidDhi gacCha thaatha yaThaasukham

 

"Consider Rama as Dasaratha, your father and Seetha as myself , your mother, and the forest as Ayodhya. Go my son in comfort."

 

Besides the explicit meaning the commentators like Govindaraja attribute special meanings to this sloka

 

The word daSaraTha implies the Lord Vishnu besides the meaning of Dasatartha, the father of Rama because daSa means daSathi ithi, denotes Garuda who bites all beings like snakes fish etc. Hence daSaraTha has the meaning 'the one who has Garuda as his chariot, that is Lord Vishnu. Similarly the word' maa' denotes Lakshmi and the meaning of the first line is that "know Rama as the Lord Vishnu Himself and Seetha is none other than Lakshmi. AyoDhyaa , meaning infallible, could denote VaikunTa , the abode of the Lord and she says that for Lakshmana the forest atavee is like vaikunTa.

 

Sumithra was portrayed as a jnani and hence she knew the secret of the incarnation of Rama. She insisted that Lakshman should take proper care of Rama and Seetha because by comparing Rama to Dasaratha thee is also a hidden meaning that like his father who followed the words of his wife and sent Rama to forest, Rama was also going to heed the words of Seetha and run after the golden deer. The words `ayoDhyaam ataveem vidDhi,' consider the a forest as Ayodhya can also mean vice versa, that `know this Ayodhya to be the forest without Rama and Seetha.

 

Sumithra of Kamban is even more emphatic in her advice to Lakshmana. She , after saying the words reflecting those in Valmiki, further says,

 

MaganE ivan pin sel; thambi ennumpadi anRu, adiyaarinin Evalseidhi

Mannum nagarkke ivan vandhidin; vaa, adhu inrEl munnam mudi.'

 

The glory of the character of Sumithra is well brought out by Kamban through these words. It means, "my son, go after him(Raama), not as a younger brother but as a servant If he returns to this city you also come with him, or else(if he does not survive the fourteen years),you die before him. This shows not only the wisdom of Sumithra about the real identity of Rama but also that she had perfectly understood her son and spoke thus so that he will not feel bad over giving sorrow to his mother by going away. Only a truly detached jnani could speak like that.

 

One small difference should be noted between Kamban and Valmiki. While in Valmiki Seeetha went to the forest in her silk garments as Dasaratha and Vasishta could not bear her wearing the bark garment, in Kamban she was wearing bark garment only, as he says,

`Punaiyum sheeram thuNindhu punaindhanaL,' and when Rama and Seetha were going Kamban says,

 

seerai suttRi thirumagaL pin sela,

moori viRkai iLaiyavan mun sela

kaarai otthavan pOmpadi kanda,av

oorai uttradhu unartthavum ovvumO

 

This is a beautiful verse. It means that when the Lakshmi is going behind wearing the bark garment , Lakshmana going in front with bow and arrow ,to see Rama resembling a cloud going in the middle, the feeling of the people in the city could very well be understood.

 

Seetha climbed into the chariot with glee as though she was going on a holiday and Rama and Lakshmana also followed her. Dasaratha gave Seetha the garments and jewels sufficient for the fourteen years and then Sumanthra drove the chariot fast. Some people were running after Rama with grief and some stayed back lamenting their loss.

 

Dasaratha followed the chariot with tears and told Sumanthra to stop so that he could see Rama for a little while but Rama told Sumanthra to go fast and therefore Sumanthra was in a dilemma whether to obey Rama or Dasaratha Then seeing his pitiable state Rama told Sumanthra to tell the king that he could not hear him in the tumult raised by the people on seeing Rama go, if the king got angry that Sumanthra did not heed his words. Dasaratha tried to follow the chariot and Kousalya also did so crying and Rama could not bear to see the suffering of his parents and hence he told Sumanthra to go fast. Then the ministers of Dasaratha pacified him saying that one should not follow someone for a long distance if it is wished that the person going away should return. Then Dasaratha and others went back to palace. But the residents of Ayodhya who followed Rama did not return and wanted to go with him to the forest. Seeing them running after the chariot, Rama out of mercy for the old Brahmins and others got down from the chariot and walked on foot. Thus they reached Thamasa river and stayed the night there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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