Im the daughter of Maithili. This is the story of Rama, my husband. My father, the king Janaka had thought that his daughter has reached a marriageable age. A swamyavar, as was the practice to chose your husband to be from suitors was arranged. Our ancestors had been gifted the Shiva's arrow which had been passed on to my father. Once as a child, I had lifted the bow while playing not knowing of its significance. My father however had witnessed it and thus had decided that my groom to be must match my ability. It turned out prince Ram, son of king Dasharatha was the one to be.
After a grand marriage, I was welcomed to the kingdom of Ayodhya. This is where the saga begins. Ram was a duti-bound son and loyal to his word. A loyal husband too, I must add. However little did we know what situation lay ahead. King Dasharatha took ill after a few years. One unfine morning when Ram was with him, Dasharatha asked for a promise from his son. Ram, true to his character assured his father character of his word.
But what was asked was unthinkable. A father sending his own son to exile for 14 years. And that too for a reason which had no substantial logic to it. My second brother-n-law, prince Bharat, would lose out the throne to my beloved husband Ram. In order to make it happen otherwise, such an arrangement was devised so that the subjects of Ayodhya can accept Bharat as the heir to the throne .
I, daughter of Janaka, bound by my duty towards my husband, accepted his exile as my own and thus began our life in exile. Laxman, the dutiful, loyal brother of Ram, also became a part of this story. He made sure that throughout these 14 years, he will stand guard and protect us to the point of putting his life at stake.Never had I known of such sacrifice and love before.
We had spend a few years of our exile in Panchavatika, on the banks of a mighty (Godavari) river. As a ardent worshiper of Shiva, I had found a cave where I sat for prayer.
On another regular morning, I spot a a deer in the forest. It was no ordinary deer- the creature has a golden complexion and is glowing amidst the trees and bushes. It is brighter than the sun in this dark environment. There was a strong urge to hold this deer and caress it.
I keep chasing it but it runs farther till I no longer can match its sprint. I call upon Ram to fetch me this deer. Ram, keeping me in the safe hands of Laxman, ventures ahead.
A long time has elapsed still no sight of return of him. Although I know no harm can happen to him, but I'm still worried of his safety. I call upon Laxman to search for his brother. He couldn't risk leaving me alone. So he takes his arrow and draws a boundary around our hut which no trespasser can cross.
I'm not sure whether it was a wise thought to have both of them leave. All I thought of at that earlier instance was the deer. Living in this forest, that creature had caught my eye as the most beautiful thing I had seen in a while. It was a small request on my part to fetch that deer; had not thought that Ram would take so long.
Immersed in such thoughts I am, when I hear a voice outside our hut. "Who could it be in this wild forest."
It appears to be a sage. He calls out again, "alms please."
(Black out)
As I gain consciousness, I'm being carried away, dragged and pulled by someone. This someone appears to be tall and mighty, his head towering above which I can't see. He has a demon like laugh. I'm being taken away by force, against my will. And all this while serving exile with my husband.
Ravana says he abducted me to teach a lesson to my husband. So it seems that I'm the bait in this personal vendetta. But there was no reason to be so. During this captivity, Ravana has often made visits to me. He says he worships Shiva but his ego and pride defeat his worship. Yet his devotion is unparalleled. His purpose to abduct me has nothing to do with me at all.
Then the epic battle between good and evil. Between the avatar of Vishnu and the ardent devout of lord Shiva. Ravana, a great ruler and who possessed the nectar of immortality. A Brahman of the highest order and a conqueror of three worlds, Ravana meets his match in the perfect man, lord of virtue. But then good and evil are relative thoughts, which have no absolute standing in the mortal world.
After a year of remaining in exile, I'm finally reunited with my beloved. He redeemed his failure in protecting me with this victory of Ravana. The perfect man, on our return journey talks of his pain and grief in losing me, of how he shouldn't have left me alone. Of how he suffered in agony. And I listened solemnly.
To prove my chastity and devotion, I went trial by fire at his behest. I knew no harm would be done unto me. Nothing however could have outraged me more than being questioned on my fidelity by my husband. At that moment, the whole battle, Ravana's death seemed futile. It made no sense in vanquishing Lanka.
When our exile was over and we were back in Ayodha, the society becomes central to the story. It starts questioning my purity and chastity. Of what might have happened in Ashok vatika. There were questions raised on my integrity as a woman, as a wife. After 14 years of exile, this was the least expected.
In order to appease the society and prove a point, my husband and now the king of Ayodhya, the perfect man thought of sending me to exile . He is raged by the doubts arising in his subjects and how they are chiding his authority as a king. His subjects question the loyalty of his queen which he took as a questioning his righteousness and virtue as a king.
I'm the daughter of mother earth, found by king Janak. I know what my fate will be. However, what is questionable is the character of my beloved husband, the righteous, Vishnu's avatar, Lord Ram. My exile, then and now, has given me this "freedom" to question the reason for that battle, the fate of Lanka and the fate of Ravana. His death was avoidable. If spending a year of captivity in Ashok vatika could raise questions on my fidelity and chastity, then there was no fault of that learned man. He did make advances but was courteous to respect my dignity.
My Ram, however chose to question me. I'm unsure of what to make of his character. If he is pious in certain aspects how does he harbor negative thoughts. When the perfect man places the comments of society at a higher value position, then the less said about others, the better. His cold behavior after the battle, his heeding to words of his subjects makes me ponder; where and what did anything go wrong. He was the only one who could break Shiva's arrow. Perhaps, a worshiper of Shiva would have done otherwise. Maybe that devout would have placed it at its rightful place.
After a grand marriage, I was welcomed to the kingdom of Ayodhya. This is where the saga begins. Ram was a duti-bound son and loyal to his word. A loyal husband too, I must add. However little did we know what situation lay ahead. King Dasharatha took ill after a few years. One unfine morning when Ram was with him, Dasharatha asked for a promise from his son. Ram, true to his character assured his father character of his word.
But what was asked was unthinkable. A father sending his own son to exile for 14 years. And that too for a reason which had no substantial logic to it. My second brother-n-law, prince Bharat, would lose out the throne to my beloved husband Ram. In order to make it happen otherwise, such an arrangement was devised so that the subjects of Ayodhya can accept Bharat as the heir to the throne .
I, daughter of Janaka, bound by my duty towards my husband, accepted his exile as my own and thus began our life in exile. Laxman, the dutiful, loyal brother of Ram, also became a part of this story. He made sure that throughout these 14 years, he will stand guard and protect us to the point of putting his life at stake.Never had I known of such sacrifice and love before.
We had spend a few years of our exile in Panchavatika, on the banks of a mighty (Godavari) river. As a ardent worshiper of Shiva, I had found a cave where I sat for prayer.
On another regular morning, I spot a a deer in the forest. It was no ordinary deer- the creature has a golden complexion and is glowing amidst the trees and bushes. It is brighter than the sun in this dark environment. There was a strong urge to hold this deer and caress it.
I keep chasing it but it runs farther till I no longer can match its sprint. I call upon Ram to fetch me this deer. Ram, keeping me in the safe hands of Laxman, ventures ahead.
A long time has elapsed still no sight of return of him. Although I know no harm can happen to him, but I'm still worried of his safety. I call upon Laxman to search for his brother. He couldn't risk leaving me alone. So he takes his arrow and draws a boundary around our hut which no trespasser can cross.
I'm not sure whether it was a wise thought to have both of them leave. All I thought of at that earlier instance was the deer. Living in this forest, that creature had caught my eye as the most beautiful thing I had seen in a while. It was a small request on my part to fetch that deer; had not thought that Ram would take so long.
Immersed in such thoughts I am, when I hear a voice outside our hut. "Who could it be in this wild forest."
It appears to be a sage. He calls out again, "alms please."
(Black out)
As I gain consciousness, I'm being carried away, dragged and pulled by someone. This someone appears to be tall and mighty, his head towering above which I can't see. He has a demon like laugh. I'm being taken away by force, against my will. And all this while serving exile with my husband.
Ravana says he abducted me to teach a lesson to my husband. So it seems that I'm the bait in this personal vendetta. But there was no reason to be so. During this captivity, Ravana has often made visits to me. He says he worships Shiva but his ego and pride defeat his worship. Yet his devotion is unparalleled. His purpose to abduct me has nothing to do with me at all.
Then the epic battle between good and evil. Between the avatar of Vishnu and the ardent devout of lord Shiva. Ravana, a great ruler and who possessed the nectar of immortality. A Brahman of the highest order and a conqueror of three worlds, Ravana meets his match in the perfect man, lord of virtue. But then good and evil are relative thoughts, which have no absolute standing in the mortal world.
After a year of remaining in exile, I'm finally reunited with my beloved. He redeemed his failure in protecting me with this victory of Ravana. The perfect man, on our return journey talks of his pain and grief in losing me, of how he shouldn't have left me alone. Of how he suffered in agony. And I listened solemnly.
To prove my chastity and devotion, I went trial by fire at his behest. I knew no harm would be done unto me. Nothing however could have outraged me more than being questioned on my fidelity by my husband. At that moment, the whole battle, Ravana's death seemed futile. It made no sense in vanquishing Lanka.
When our exile was over and we were back in Ayodha, the society becomes central to the story. It starts questioning my purity and chastity. Of what might have happened in Ashok vatika. There were questions raised on my integrity as a woman, as a wife. After 14 years of exile, this was the least expected.
In order to appease the society and prove a point, my husband and now the king of Ayodhya, the perfect man thought of sending me to exile . He is raged by the doubts arising in his subjects and how they are chiding his authority as a king. His subjects question the loyalty of his queen which he took as a questioning his righteousness and virtue as a king.
I'm the daughter of mother earth, found by king Janak. I know what my fate will be. However, what is questionable is the character of my beloved husband, the righteous, Vishnu's avatar, Lord Ram. My exile, then and now, has given me this "freedom" to question the reason for that battle, the fate of Lanka and the fate of Ravana. His death was avoidable. If spending a year of captivity in Ashok vatika could raise questions on my fidelity and chastity, then there was no fault of that learned man. He did make advances but was courteous to respect my dignity.
My Ram, however chose to question me. I'm unsure of what to make of his character. If he is pious in certain aspects how does he harbor negative thoughts. When the perfect man places the comments of society at a higher value position, then the less said about others, the better. His cold behavior after the battle, his heeding to words of his subjects makes me ponder; where and what did anything go wrong. He was the only one who could break Shiva's arrow. Perhaps, a worshiper of Shiva would have done otherwise. Maybe that devout would have placed it at its rightful place.
