Hearing Kaikeyi's fell speech, the monarch bewailed for a time, and then
thought,--"Is this a day-dream unto me or has bewilderment befallen my
senses? Is this owing to influence of some evil spirit or has my mind
been affected?" Thinking thus, the king could not arrive at the. origin
of (this phenomenon); and then he swooned away. Then regaining his
senses, he was filled with grief on recollecting Kaikeyi's words; and
pained and woe-begone, like unto a deer at the sight of a tigress, he
fetched a deep sigh, and sat down on the uncover ed ground. Like a
venomous snake confined by power of incantation within a circle, the
lord of men, in indignation exclaimed, "O fie!" And deprived of his
senses by grief, he again swooned away. After a long while, regaining
his senses, he extremely aggrieved, wrathfully, and as if burning in
energy, addressed Kaikeyi, saying,--"Thou cruel one! Thou of vile ways!
Thou destroyer of this race! O wicked woman, what has been done by Rama
unto thee; or what wrong have I done thee? Raghava ever serveth thee as
a mother. Why thou art then bent upon wronging him? It is to bring down
destruction upon myself that through ignorance I brought unto this house
thee like unto a serpent of virulent poison. When all men show their
regard for Rama's virtues, for what transgression shall I forsake my
dear son? I may renounce Kaucalya or Sumitra or the kingdom, or life
itself; but Rama, filled with affection for his father, will I not
renounce. I experience supreme delight on beholding my first-born; and
when I see him not, I lose my senses. The world may exist without the
Sun; and corn without water; but this life doth not exist in this body
without Rama. Do thou then that entertainest unrighteous aims, abandon
this intention of thine. I lay my head at thy feet. Be propitious unto
me. Why dost thou, O sinful one, cherish in thy mind such a frightful
idea? Thou (often) asked me whether I love Bharata or not. Be that which
thou hadst formerly told me in favor of that descendant of Raghu. 'That
blessed one is my eldest son, and the most righteous of them all' even
this, with the view of pleasing me, thou sweet speeched one had said.
Now hearing of the installation of Rama, thou thyself filled with grief,
art making me exceedingly aggrieved. Or in this empty chamber having
been possessed, thou hast come under influence not thy own. And this
signal lawlessness, O exalted lady, has befallen the race of the
Ikshwakus; the cause of which, 0 Thou versed in moral laws, is thy
mental derangement. Thou didst not formerly do unto me aught that was
improper or disagreeable; therefore, O thou of expansive eyes, I cannot
rely upon thee (as sane). Thou didst, O girl, many a time tell me that
Rama was equal unto thee with the high-souled Bharata. Wherefore then, O
bashful one, dost thou like that the illustrious and righteous Rama, O
exalted dame, should reside in the forest for five and nine years? Why
dost thou like that the exceedingly tender Rama with his soul
established in virtue, should dwell in the woods, undergoing terrible
hardship? Why dost thou, O thou of graceful eyes, wish Rama, captivating
all creatures, and engaged in ministering unto thee, to be banished?
Rama verily serveth thee far more than doth Bharata; and I do not find
that Bharata regardeth thee more than Rama. Who will, save that foremost
of men, so devotedly minister unto thee, regard thee, enhance thy
influence, and do thy will. Not one of the many thousands of females and
the innumerable retainers (in the palace), has been able to fasten
reproach upon Rama for real or false misconduct. Soothing all creatures
with a pure heart, that great soul by means of good officers secureth
the affections of the inhabitants of the kingdom. He conquers all the
twice-born ones by gifts; and that hero conquers his superiors by
ministrations; and his enemies by encountering them with the bow. For
certain, in Raghava are truth and charity, and asceticism,and self-
renunciation,and friendship, and purity, and sincerity, and learning,
and the disposition to tend his superiors. How, O respected one, canst
thou ask for this that will bring thee sin, touching Rama endowed with
candour, and energetic like unto a Maharshi, and resembling a celestial?
I do not recollect to have heard Rama, who ever speaks sweet words, to
have used any unpleasant speech to any one; how can I then for thy sake
unfold this disagreeable matter unto the beloved Rama? And what stay
have I save him in whom abide forgtveness,and asceticism and
renunciation, and verity, and righteousness, and gratitude, and harmless
towards all creatures. It behoveth thee, O Kaikeyi, to have pity on me,
aged and on the verge of death, and afflicted with grief, and
distressed, and engaged in lamentations. Whatever can be obtained in
this earth bounded by the ocean I will confer on thee--do thou not bring
about my death. O Kaikeyi, 1 clasp my palms, I fall at thy feet, be thou
the protector of Rama, so that sin may not taint me."
When the terrible Kaikeyi in still more terrible language addressed the
mighty king, who was burning in grief, and bewailing, and deprived of
his senses, and feeling a sensation of whirling, and overwhelmed with
woe, and again and again beseeching for crossing this ocean of sorrow,
saying. "If, O monarch, having conferred the boon,thou repentest
afterwards how, O hero, wilt thou speak of thy righteousness in the
world? When,0 thou versed in duty, the Rajarshis assembled around thee,
shall ask thee regarding this matter, what wilt thou answer? Wilt thou
say, 'by whose favor do I live and who had tended me, unto that Kaikeyi
have I broken my promise?' Surely, O lord of men, thou wilt bring
disgrace unto all the monarchs (of thy line), since having conferred the
boons this very day, thou speakest otherwise. Saivya granted his own
flesh unto the bird in the matter of the hawk and the pigeon.[115] And
Alarka, having granted his eyes (unto a blind Brahmin) attained
excellent state. And the ocean, having bound himself by promise, never
passes beyond his shores. Remembering these old stories render not thy
promise nugatory. O thou of perverted understanding, renouncing
righteousness, and installing Rama in the kingdom, thou wishest ever to
give thyself up to pleasure with Kaucalya. Whether what I have proposed
be righteous or otherwise, whether thou hast promised truly or falsely,
swerve not from thy word. If thou install Raima, this very day drinking
poison, I will surely die before thee. If I for a single day behold
Rama's mother receiving homage rendered with clasped hands, I will
consider death even as welcome, O lord of men, by Bharata's self dear
unto me as my own life, I swear that save the exile of Rama, nothing
shall satisfy me."
Having said this, Kaikeyi paused; and maintained silence disregarding
the bewailing monarch. The king with his senses overwhelmed with grief,
hearing Kaikeyi's exceedingly bitter words, reflected on Rama's abode in
the woods, and the advancement of Bharata, and being bewildered for a
while spoke not unto Kaikeyi; but gazed steadfastly at that exalted
dame, his beloved wife, who had uttered disagreeable things. And having
heard that speech resembling a thunder-bolt, and unpleasant to the
heart, and surcharged with grief, the king was extremely pained. Then
recollecting that revered lady's resolve, and his own terrible oath, he,
sighing forth,--"O Rama," dropped down like a felled tree. And then that
master of the earth being deprived of his sense, was like a mad man, or
a patient with his faculties wildered, or a serpent whose energy has
been exhausted. In sad and distressful words, he addressed Kaikeyi,
saying,--"Who is it that has convinced thee that this exceedingly
heinous course is a proper one? Dost thou not feel shame to speak thus
unto me, like one whose faculties have been possessed by an evil spirit?
I did not know before, when thou wast youthful that thy nature was so
perverted; but now I find the very reverse of what I then thought.
Whence proceedeth thy fear that thou askest for such a boon--the
establishment of Bharata in the kingdom, and the banishment of Rama into
the woods? Do thou cease to urge such a suit that is fraught with evil
unto thy wifely virtue, and that will render my word untrue, if thou
wishest for the good of thy husband, of the people, and Bharata. O cruel
woman; O thou that intendest sinfully, O base wretch, O doer of impious
deeds, how have I and Rama conspired against thy happiness; and what
offence dost thou find in us? Bharata will by no means accept the
kingdom, depriving Rama of it, for I consider Bharata a still more
grounded in righteousness than Rama himself. When I shall say,--"Repair
unto the forest," and Rama's countenance will fall, like unto the moon
overwhelmed by Rahu, how shall I behold it? How shall I, having in
consultation with my friends come to this decision, retract the same,
like unto an army defeated by the enemy? And what will the monarchs
coming from various quarters say concerning me,-- "Alas! how has this
puerile descendant of Ikshwaku reigned so long?' And when many aged
folks, endowed with virtues, and accomplished in various lore will ask
me concerning Kakutstha, what then shall I sav unto them.--'Sore pressed
by Kaikeyi, have I banished Rama? Even if I speak this truly, yet none
will lend credence to it. And what will Kaucalya say unto me, when Rama
shall have gone to the forest? Having dpne her this mighty wrong, what
shall I say unto her? Kaucalya serves me at the same time like a slave,
and a friend, and wife, and sister, and mother. Ever studious of my
welfare, dearly loving her son, and speaking every one fair, that
exalted lady, although deserving of homage at my hands, has up to this
time not been regarded by me, because of thee. That I have so long
sought thy welfare, afflicteth me now, even like rice partaken by a sick
person with curries that are unhealthful. Beholding Rama deprived of his
kingdom, and banished unto the forest, why will Sumitra alarmed believe
in me. Ah! woe to me! Vaidehi will have to hear of two evil events,--my
death and Rama's journey unto the woods. Alas! my Vaidehi, indulging in
grief, will renounce her existence, like a Kinnari on the side of the
Himavat, who has been forsaken by her kinnara. When I shall witness Rama
repairing to the mighty forest, and Sita weeping (in grief) , I shall
not hope for a long life; and thou, becoming a widow, will reign along
with thy son. Like unto a goodly liquor, which people having partaken
it, subsequently find to contain poison, I have found thee, who had
passed for a chaste woman, to be now really unchaste. Having soothed me
with soft but false words, thou speakest thus. Thou hast killed me like
a deer that has been entrapped by a hunter, having been allured into the
net through the sound of a song. Surely gentle folks will on the
high-way censure me as one lost to gentility,--as one who has sold his
son (for buying his wife's good graces), even like a Brahmana given to
drinking. Alas! alas! having promised thee the boon, I have to bear
these words of thine; and have come by this grief like unto evil
consequent upon misdeeds in a previous existence. Wretch as I am, like a
halter set round one's neck, have I, O vile woman, cherished thee
through ignorance. Not knowing thee for my death, I have sported with
thee, like an infant dallying in solitude with a venomous snake. Surely,
people will be justified in con- demning me wicked-minded that I am, for
my son having been deprived of his ancestral kingdom by me; saying,--
"Alas! king Dacaratha is foolish and lustful; for he sends his beloved
son to the woods for the sake of his wife." Rama has grown emaciated by
study ng the Vedas, leading the Brahmacharyya mode of life, and serving
his preceptors,--- will he again undergo this mighty toil at this time
of enjoyment? My son is incapable of uttering a second word unto me; and
commissioned, he will repair to the woods, saying, 'Very well.' if
ordered with 'Go to the forest,' Raghava does not consent, even that
would conduce to my pleasure; but he will do nothing of the kind. And
Raghava having gone to the forest, Death will surely summon me away to
his abode who am of exceedingly reprehensible character, and who am
universally execrated. And I having been dead and that best of men,
Rama, having gone to the woods (I do not know) to what a plight thou
wilt bring my kindreds. And if Kaucalya loses me and Rama, and Sumitra
loses her two sons and me and Rama, then tormented with the extreme of
grief, those exalted ladies will follow me. Do thou, O Kaikeyi, casting
into hell Kaucalya and Sumitra and myself with our three sons, attain
happiness. Renounced by me as well as Rama, this lkshwaku line existing
from a time immemorial, and ennobled by excellent qualities, and
incapable of coming by grief, thou wilt rule, when it shall have been
overwhelmed with misfortune. If the banishment of Rama, be agreeable to
Bharata let him not, when I am dead, perform my funeral obsequies. When
I am dead, and when that foremost of men has gone to the forest, do
thou, a widow, rule the kingdom along with thy son. O daughter of a
king, when by chance thou residest in my mansion, I must come by signal
infamy and discomfiture in the world, and meet with general disregard,
like unto a sinful person. How having always gone on cars and elephants
and horses, will dear Rama range in the forest on foot? How will my son,
at the approach of whose meal-time, cooks wearing ear-rings and
emulating each other prepare excellent meats and drinks, pass his days,
living on fare furnished by the woods, of astringent, or bitter, or
pungent taste? How will he, who has always been clad in costly attire,
and who has always enjoyed happiness, will dwell on the bare earth,
wearing a piece of red cloth? From whom hast thou received this
inconceivable and dreadful advice,-- Rama's journey to the woods and
installation of Bharata? Fie upon women, crafty and selfish! But I must
not name all women--I mean only the mother of Bharata. O thou that art
intent upon doing mischief unto all, O thou addicted to selfishness, O
cruel one, has God made thy mind so very vile, only to torment me? What
wrong hast thou come by either through me, or Rama ever engaged in thy
welfare? On beholding Rama plunged in sorrow, fathers will forsake sons,
and wives attached unto their husbands will forsake them, and the entire
earth will be affected with ill-humour. When I hear him coming, adorned
like unto a son of the celestials, I rejoice on casting my eyes on him,
and I feel as if I had regained my youth. Men may do without the Sun,
and the wielder of the thunder-bolt not raining, but none, I apprehend,
can live, on witnessing Rama repairing hence. I have kept in my mansion,
like unto my own death, thee that desirest my destruction, and art
intent upon doing me wrong, and art my foe. I have for a long time held
thee on my lap, like unto a she-snake of virulent poison; therefore in
consequence of my folly, I now meet with destruction. Now dissevered
from me, and Rama together with Lakshmana, let Bharata govern the city
and the kingdom along with thee. Destroying thy relatives, do thou
enhance the joy of my enemies. O thou cruelly-disposed, O thou bringer
on of calamities, since banishing all sense of the relation in which we
stand to each other as husband and wife, thou hast spoken thus, why
reduced to thousand fragments thy teeth drop not from off thy mouth down
to the ground? Rama has not used any harsh speech towards thee. Indeed
Rama knows no harsh speech; why then dost thou seek to inflict upon Rama
(ever) pleasant spoken, and endowed with agreeable qualities--such
wrongs. O thou that renderest infamous the king of the Kekayas, whether
thou becomest miserable, or enterest into fire, or killest thyself (by
taking poison), or divest into the bowels of the earth opened at a
thousand places, I will not execute thy fell intention that is fraught
with evil unto me. I do not wish, that thou, like unto a razor, and ever
speaking pleasant falsehoods, and possessed of a vile heart, the
destroyer of thy own race,--thou that wishest to burn my heart and life,
thou unbeautiful one, mayst remain alive. My life itself is in
jeopardy,--where then is my happiness? Where is the happiness of parents
without their sons? It behoveth thee not, O noble dame, to do evil unto
me. I take hold of thy feet; be thou propitious unto me." As bewailing
thus like one forlorn the ruler of earth whose heart was captivated by
Kaikeyi on account of her supreme beauty proceeded to take hold of her
feet, who having banished all self respect, sat with her legs stretched,
he, without being able to come at them, fell down in a swoon, like one
enfeebled with disease.
[115] The story goes that desirous of testing the charity of Saivya,
Indra and Agni assuming the forms of a hawk and a pigeon
respectively, went to the king, the former pursuing the latter.
The pigeon in a fright asked the protection of the monarch,
whereon he granted it. But the hawk urged, 'why dost thou retain
the food that has been appointed by Providence?' But the king
declined, and cut off his own flesh and gave it unto the hawk.--
T.