HARIHARESHWARI 11 : ℝ𝔸𝕄𝕆 𝕃𝕆𝕂𝔸𝔹ℍ𝕀ℝ𝔸𝕄𝕆

CHAPTER 19

Shri Ram went straight to the palace of Kaushalya. The agitated Lakshman followed him. The eldest queen of Dashrath was surrounded by many people including Brahmins, she was conducting a ritual for Shri Ram's well being.

When Kaushalya saw her son, she went to him and embraced him. She offered him food but Shri Ram just touched the plate and left it. He had to break the news of exile to her.

"Maa, aapko gyaath nahi kintu stithi kuch aisi utpann huyi hai jisse aapko, Sita ko aur Lakshman ko atyant dukh hoga kintu mujhe 14 varsh hetu van mei rehna padega, tapasvi vesh mei, fal aur kand-mool khaa ke. Pitashree ne mujhe 14 varsh ka vanvas diya hai aur Bharat ko singhasan. Mata Kaikeyi ke nirdesh ke anusaar mujhe aaj hi jana hoga." Shri Ram said slowly but calmly.

The entire world of Kaushalya crashed in that moment. The emotions she had buried inside her heart for so long, couldn't be hidden any longer. They came out in form of tears.

"Yadi aisa hi hona tha toh uchit hota ki tumhara janm hi Naa hota. Mai nistaan hi thik rehti, kam se kam apne putra se virah ki peeda toh na sehni padti. Tumhare Pita ne kabhi mujhe Maharani ka sukh diya hi nahi. Mujhse adhik accha vyavhaar toh Kaikeyi ki daasiyo se saath rakhte hai. Tum hi toh mere ek maatra anand ka karan ho Ram. Anyatha yaha mujhe vyang aur apmaan ke sivaaye kuch nahi mila. Yadi tum chale gaye toh jeevit nahi reh paayungi putra." Kaushalya sobbed.

She had been on the receiving end of insults from the women of the palace. With Shri Ram gone, those taunts will only get more aggravating.

Shri Ram managed to keep his composure despite his mother's sorrowful words. But Lakshman couldn't hold it anymore.

"Mai aapke iss nirnaye se sehmat nahi hu bhaiya ! Aapne aisa koi apraadh nahi kiya jiske karan aapse aapke adhikaar chheene jaaye, yeh samridh rajya chheene jaaye ! Maharaj ki buddhi vridhavasta aur vaasna ke karan bhrasht ho gayi hai. Woh Kaikeyi ke shabdo se dushprabhavit ho gaye hai, anyatha kaunsa Buddhiman aapke jaise Dharmatma aur Satyavadi santaan ka tyaag karega ?" Lakshman said.

The elder Soumitri had kept quiet for long but now the injustice was too much to bear.

"Yeh anyaye hume nahi sehna chahiye bhaiya. Sabki sehmati se aapka Rajyabhishek hone wala tha. Praja ke chune hue Raja aap the aur rahenge. Isse pehle yeh suchna aur faele, bal ka prayog kar Rajya par apna aadhipatya sthapit kar lijiye. Yadi awashyakta padi toh mai Pitashree ko bandhi bana lunga, unka vadh kardunga kintu aapke saath anyaye nahi hone dunga. Shaashtra kehte hai ki agar Guru adharm ke maarg par chal, Rajya ko kshati pahuchaye toh aise Guru ko dandit karna chahiye. Pitashree bhi Rajya ke hit ke virudh karya kar rahe hai." Lakshman said.

Hearing Lakshman's resentment and protests, Kaushalya got encouraged.

"Putra, tumne apne bhai ke vichaar sun liye. Ab woh karo jo uchit ho. Meri Saut ke anyayepoorn aadesh ka palan karne ki koi awashyakta nahi. Tum jitna apne Pita ke putra ho utne mere bhi. Mai tumhe aadesh deti hu ki tum Van mei nahi jaoge. Tumhe mere aadesho ka bhi palan karna padega. Kintu fir bhi tumhe van mei jana hai toh mujhe apne saath le chalo kyuki mai tumhare bina jee nahi payungi." Kaushalya said.

Shri Ram comforted his brother and mother. He appreciated their emotions and concerns but he had made up his mind to go. Justice and injustice didn't matter to him in his perception.

"Maa, vachan toh Mata Kaikeyi ne maange kintu aadesh toh Pitashree ka hi hai na. Bhale unhone swayam na kaha ho. Bahut se santaano ne apne Pita ke anyayepoorn aadesh ka palan kar yash kamaya hai. Mai bhi wahi udaharan ka palan kar raha hu. Mere nirnaye par vishwas rakhe. Mujhe sukhi man se vidaa kare aur 14 varsho tak meri pratiksha kare." Shri Ram said.

He then looked at Lakshman and kept his hand on Soumitri's shoulder. Shri Ram knew Lakshman needed a practical explanation.

"Apne krodh ko tyaago aur thande man se vichaar karo, Lakshman. Yadi mai yaha ruk bhi jaayu toh Pitashree prasann honge kintu har kshan meri upasthiti unko apne vachano ki yaad dilayegi jo woh purn na kar paye. Yeh vyakulta unhe andar hi andar khaa jayegi mere bhai. Vridhavasta mei mai unko yeh peeda nahi de sakta." Shri Ram said.

"Toh kya aap anyaye sahenge bhaiya ?" Lakshman asked.

"Yaha ek aur baat hai. Maine kabhi jaane anjaane mei aisa koi karya nahi kiya jisse Mata Kaikeyi ko dukh ho. Aur unhone bhi mujhme aur Bharat mei kabhi bhed nahi kiya. Yeh avishwasniya hai ki woh aise var maangegi, kuch toh hai jiske karan unka hridaye-parivartan huya hai. Aur Pitashree, jo mujhse itna prem karte hai, woh bhi vanvaas hetu maan gaye. Kuch hi prahar mei mai Ayodhya ka Raja banne wala tha aur akasmaat, bina kisi dosh ke, mujhse sab chheen liya gaya. Iska koi arth nahi ban raha Lakshman. Yeh awashya Niyati ka khel hai." Shri Ram said.

Now Lakshman too had started understanding what Shri Ram was conveying. There was no explanation of this situation.

"Niyati ne hi Mata Kaikeyi ke man ko mere prati dushit kiya hai. Niyati ke prabhav aparimaye hai jisko badla nahi jaa sakta. Anyatha Kekeya Rajya ki veer Rajkumari Kaikeyi ek asabhya naari ki tarah kyu vyavahar karegi ? Niyati mujhe kisi oor khich rahi hai Lakshman, aur kadachit iss tarah mujhe apne jeevan ka udeshya mil jaye. Virodh karna vyarth hai, iss liye maine yeh vanvaas swikar kiya. Mai jaanna chahta hu ki niyati mei mere liye kya hai." Shri Ram said.

"Uchit hai. Toh mujhe bhi apne saath le chaliye Bhaiya." Lakshman said.

"Nahi Lakshman. Yadi hum dono chale gaye toh Bhrasht-buddhi ke karan Mata Kaikeyi humari Matao ke saath durvyavahar kar sakti hai. Hum mei se kisi ek ko yaha rehna padega, Matao ki sewa mei." Shri Ram said.

"Bharat hai na Matao ka dhyaan rakhne, yadi woh nahi rakhega toh mai usi kshan Ayodhya laut ke uska vadh kardunga ! Waise bhi Mata Kaushalya aatmanirbhar hai, unke paas 1000 graamo ka netritva hai. Unko meri raksha ki kya awashyakta ? Woh swayam mujh jaise anek vyaktiyo ko sharan de sakti hai. Mata Kaushalya, meri Maa Sumitra ka bhi khayal rakh lengi." Lakshman said.

Kaushalya was financially independent as she had over a 1000 villages in possession. Shri Ram knew this and hence consented to Lakshman accompanying him.

"Uchit hai. Jaao apni Mata aur bandhu-jan se aagya maang lo." Shri Ram agreed.

Lakshman was joyed, he wanted nothing more than to be in the company of his brother. Kaushalya too stopped resisting, she knew her son would never do something that is not appropriate. And if Lakshman was accompanying him then she was tension free. Hence she too consented.

Now comes the hard part of Shri Ram. It was easy convincing Kaushalya and Lakshman. But now he had to break the news to his wife Sita.

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A/N

People think Ram ji was too idealistic in his ways and all that but in reality he was a very practical person, as you can see by his explanation to Lakshman.

Now the question - When to go with the flow and when to resist ?

In Bhagwad Gita, adhyaye 18, Shlokas 13-14, Shri Krishna talks about 5 factors that lead to success or failure of a task.

1) Karta - The doer.

2) Karanam - The instruments being used.

3) Adhisthaanam - place, time and approch.

4) Cheshta - Different activities and process undertaken.

5) Daivam - Destiny.

The first four factors are in our control, the fifth one is not. So if you've done the first 4 to the best of your capabilities even then the desired outcome doesn't come, then it's the game of destiny.

And once you know that it's the game of destiny, you go with the flow. Cause no matter how hard you fight, destiny is inevitable.

But if the desired outcome didn't come due to a fault in the first 4 factors, then you should keep working. Because nevertheless destiny is the last factor to determine failure and success.

Now see that Shri Ram never did anything that hurt Kaikeyi, she too loved him like Bharat, Dashrath too loved him more than Kaikeyi, in few hours his coronation would've taken place..... But everything got lost.

Niwala muh tak aake chhin gaya, you can say. He did the first 4 factors to his best even then everything was snatched. So what can be the logical explanation to this, if not destiny, as Shri Ram said. He exhibits his Yogasth Buddhi here.

This approach helps you to pragmatically live life without losing hope.

And hence I said it's arguably the best lesson of life.