desire 27

[Guest guest]

Dear sri vaishNava

perunthagaiyeer,

 

We saw in the previous summing up [post 17] we covered

type A kaamam – more oriented on sex upto that post 16 - and then we took upon

type B – viz. other types with sub classification. In this other types of

kaamam, we are seeing

a.

kooni's kaamam - of mainly crowning bharatha, the son of 'her

queen and pet kaikEyee', by timely reminding on the boons given in yester

years.

b. KaikEyee's

kaamam in asking her husband dhasaratha the 2 boons – crowning her son bharatha

and sending raama to forest.

c. King

dhasaratha's kaamam – type C - a mixture of

§

sex - intended with kaikEyee – the young queen –

tharuNee

§

affection on raama.

Since these three are mixed up so intricately, we cannot

see them in isolation without the other. And that is with what we are

continuing.

 

We saw kaikEyee started talking on dharmam to king

dhasaratha. And she started advising [?] dhasaratha not to give up his dharmam,

and questioned him on his kaamam on raama and asked 'want to give up your kula dhanam

of living upto 'sathyam'. She ensured by this way, her kaamam of crowning

bharatha can be achieved.

 

When this 'dharmam' topic came up between the two,

dhasaratha and kaikEyee, dhasaratha wanted to see that 'virtuous' raama, so

that in his thinking raama may offer some solution. Let us continue from here.

At that time, since it was early in the morning, on advice of sage vasishTa,

sumanthra came to wake up the king. Since king was in a mournful mood, kaikEyee

instructed sumanthra to bring raama there - to her palace.

 

sumanthra raajaa rajaneem raama harsha samuthsukah ||

2-14-62

prajaagara parisraanthO nidhraa vasam upEyuvaan |

 

meaning: Oh Sumanthra! The king, being smitten by

emotional joy in relation to Raama, and who, being tired of awakening the whole

night as such, got subjected to sleep [now].

 

point: actually it was the sorrowful mood of

sending away raama that dhasaratha was in but see how kaikeyee puts it as

happiness of king.

 

When raama reached the place of kaikeyee, on seeing raama,

king dhasaratha called 'raama' - only one word and could not speak further.

Thus seeing father totally upset, raama expressed his kaamam – of pleasing

father always - see slokam

 

athOshayan mahaa raajam akurvan vaa pithur vachah |

muhoortham api na ichchhEyam jeevithum kupithE nrupE ||

2-18-15

 

meaning: raama says to kaikEyee on seeing father upset -

" If our father becomes angry, I do not desire to live even for a moment

without satisfying him or without fulfilling his command. "

 

Point: When raama said this, then he asked 'oh mother,

have you talked with your [usual] pride and anger to kaikEyee'. [We saw that

slokam earlier] Now slowly kaikeyee is trying to bind raama also - saying

 

priyam thvaam apriyam vakthum vaaNee na asya upaparthathE

|

thadh avasyam thvayaa kaaryam yadh anEna aasrutham mama || 2-18-21

 

meaning: kaikEyee to raama, " To him, words are not

coming off because they are certain disagreeable words to you, oh, raama, the

dear one to him. He promised me a word. It is to be

certainly done by you. "

 

aho dhinna arhasE dhEvee vakthum maam eedhrisam vachah |

aham hi vachanaath raajnah pathEyam api paavakE || 2-18-28

 

bhakshaya iyam visham theekshNam majja iyam api cha arNavE |

niyukthah guruNaa pithraa nrupENa cha hithEna cha ||

2-18-29

 

meaning: raama to kaikEyee, "Oh, queen! what a pity! Do

not talk like that to me. If father tells me, I shall jump even in fire. If

father, who is the king, who wishes my welfare and who is venerable, commands

me, I shall eat fiery poison and shall sink into an ocean. "

 

thath broohi vachanam dhEvee raajnah yadh abhikaankshitham

|

karishyE prathijaane cha raamah dhvir na abhibhaashathE ||

2-18-30

 

meaning: raama continues to kaikEyee, "Oh queen! Tell me

the words of the king as desired by him. I promise

to do it. Raama does not speak two things. "

 

Point: See how raama got himself caught

by the clever words of kaikEyee. Knowing fully well that raama always desires

to do things, which are pleasing to the king and father, kaikEyee got him, even

without telling him what is that the father desired.

 

So that is what I say as raama's kaamam –

'of pleasing his father' at any cost. If, for a while, raama thought – 'let me

hear first from kaikEyee, what is that my father desired and to be done by me'

and then decide on the action to be taken, perhaps the course of raamaayaNam

would have gone elsewhere.

 

Or raama just said, 'let me hear what is

it, then I decide on shall do it or not' – then also perhaps the same course

would have happened as we read raamaayaNam. Perhaps that moment of hesitation

on the part of raama would have decided the fate of the course. But it all did

not happen. Raama, in a straight hit, said 'whatever is father's words I

promise to do it'.

 

So whatever happens later is all due to

more of raama sticking to raama's own promise', his 'sva dharmam' or 'kaamam'

of sticking to acts that which pleases father.

 

Actually if you check here, by raama's

promise and his further action of going to forest etc, whether his father is

really pleased or not, in reality, it is in the negative. Again see the

conflict, between dharmam and kaamam.

 

But raama's action made dhasaratha stick

to his dharmam, even though dhasaratha's

kaamam failed. So when a conflict between kaamam and dharmam happens, it

is dharmam, which wins in raamayaNam than kaamam – but with a lot of

sacrifices.

 

Dhasan

-- Vasudevan MG