Then shaking his head and sighing again and again pressing palm upon
palm and grinding teeth upon teeth, with eyes reddened in wrath and an
altered complexion, and suddenly waxing angry and moved with grief,
Sumantra witnessing the mental condition of Dacaratha said, shaking
Kaikeyi's heart with the sharpened shafts of his speech and piercing her
mind all over with his harsh words resembling thunderbolts, "O
worshipful one, since you have forsaken king Dacaratha, the maintainer
of this world and the mobile and the immobile that it contains, there is
nothing that is incapable of being done by you. I consider you the
murderess of your husband and as one that has finally exterminated one's
line; inasmuch as you have by your act afflicted the monarch invincible
like Indra, firm as a hill, and imperturbable like the deep itself. You
ought not to bring down your boon-bestowing lord and husband Dacaratha;
for surely the wish of a husband to a wife outweighs a _koti_ of sons.
The princes will obtain the kingdom one after another according to
age;-- this custom it is your study to render nugatory even when the
lord of the Ikshawaku race is still alive. Let your son be king; let
Bharata rule the earth: we, however, will go where goes Rama. No
Brahmana will dwell in your dominion --such is the ungracious deed you
are going to do. [Surely we will go the way that is wended by Rama, and
what happiness, O revered one, will you,forsaken by friends, Brahmanas
and the saintly, reap by remaining here, allured by the lust of
dominion? And you are going to do such an act!][140] A wonder it is that
I perceive, viz,--that the earth hid by a character like you is not
riven this very day. And why doth not the flaming and dreadful censure
uttered by the mighty Brahmarshis destroy you who are bent upon
banishing Rama? Who having hewn a mangoe tree by his axe, tendeth a
Nimba? It never turns sweet for him that waters it. Your birth is noble
indeed; it is as much so as is your mother's. They say that sweet is
never extracted from Nimba. I remember what I have heard from old men
concerning the vicious inclinations of your mother.
Some one intent upon conferring boons conferred an excellent one on your
father. In virtue of this, that lord of earth could understand the
import of sounds emitted by all beings, and it is in consequence of this
that he could understand the speech even of birds and beasts. One day as
your father was lying down, he, understanding the thoughts of a gold-
hued Jrimbha bird, from its cries, laughed heartily. Thereat your mother
getting angry, wishing for the noose of death, said,--'O king, O placid
one, I ask you for the reason of your laughter.' The king replied,--'O
worshipful lady, if I unfold unto you the reason of my laugh, then I
shall without doubt die to-day.' But that revered one, your mother,
again urged Kekaya, saying,--'Tell it to me, whether you live or die;
for (when I have learnt all about it), you will not be able to laugh at
me again.' Thus addressed by his beloved spouse, that lord of earth
Kekaya went to the saint that had conferred the boon on him and related
unto him everything faithfully. Thereupon that boon-giving saint said
unto the kin; "Whether this one kills herself or be destroyed, do you
not, O king reveal it." Hearing these words of his, the king well
pleased summarily forsook your mother and began to divert himself like
Kuvera. Even in the same way, you, O you that see only evil, staying in
an unrighteous count befouling the king's sense, endeavour to make him
commit this wrong. In this connection I remember a saying, viz.,-- men
take after their fathers, and women their mothers. Do not be so,--do you
even accept what the lord of earth says. Doing the will of your lord, do
you become the refuge of us all. Do not incited by evil propensities,
make your husband the lord of men endued with the prowess of the
celestial chief, perpetrate an unrighteous deed. That sinless one will
not for certain give practical effect to the promise jestingly made by
you. O worshipful one, king Dacaratha is graceful, being furnished with
eyes resembling lotuses. Let him install his eldest son, Rama generous
and able, maintaining his own religion--the protector of all men--and
endued with might. O revered lady, great is the obloquy that will spread
concerning you, if leaving his royal father, Rama repaireth to the
forest. Let therefore Raghava govern his kingdom; and do you remove your
agitation. Surely save Raghava none residing in the kingdom will prove
friendly to you. On Rama being installed as the heir-apparent, that best
of bowmen--king Dacaratha--will depart for the forest, remembering
ancient examples." Thus in presence of the king, Sumantra with clasped
palms, with soft yet cutting words endeavoured to strike Kaikeyi with
regret. But that noble dame did not feel any compunction, nor was she
touched with regret. And the complexion of her countenance remained as
it was before.
[140] The North West Provinces text omits the lines inclosed within
brackets.