Lakṣmaṇa, whose mind was distressed after dropping off Sītā on the banks of the river Gaṅgā, watched her being taken into the āśrama. He told his counsellor and charioteer Sumantra, “Just imagine how much pain Rāma might be experiencing on account of Sītā’s agony. Can there be any greater suffering for Rāghava after he has sent away Janaka’s daughter of flawless character? It is evident that this separation of Rāma from Sītā is a play of the daiva – fate. Earlier, he resided in the forest because of my father’s words and now, he has banished Sītā to the forest upon hearing the criticism of the townsfolk – an even more painful deed. It looks like a cruel act to me. Moreover, what dharma has been achieved by subjecting Maithilī to this pain at the instigation of the baseless accusations made by the townsfolk – it will snatch away his own good reputation!”
Sumantra joined his palms in reverence and said this to Lakṣmaṇa, “You should not feel this agonised for the sake of Maithilī, Saumitri. This series of events was foretold long ago by brāhmaṇas in your father’s court. It is certain that Rāma will be unhappy for most of his life. After some years, he will abandon you, Bharata, and Śatrughna as well. I should not be telling you these words which Durvāsa told the king long back, especially when your father has himself not divulged it to you. Though it was told to me in confidence, I have shared it with you. It was also said that Rāma would rule Ayodhyā for ten thousand and ten hundred years.”
Lakṣmaṇa, who harboured immense agony in his heart, grasped Rāma’s feet upon returning to Ayodhyā. In a dejected voice, he said, “Honouring the noble one’s command, I have dropped off the daughter of Janaka on the banks of river Gaṅgā close to Vālmīki’s āśrama. I have now returned to serve your feet. You must not grieve, brother, for this is the course of kāla – fate.” Rāma expressed his pleasure in Lakṣmaṇa’s fulfilment of his command.
~
In the meantime, maharṣis led by Sage Cyavana appeared before Rāma. Extremely pleased with their arrival, Rāma promised to fulfil their request at all costs. Sage Cyavana said, “In the past, a rākṣasa named Madhu received a boon from Śiva, because of which he got an invincible śūla – spear. The spear was endowed with the ability to reduce enemies to ashes. Bhagavān Śiva had also declared that the spear would remain Madhu’s if he did not use it against devas or brāhmaṇas. Madhu passed away bestowing the spear to his ruthless son Lavaṇa. Now, this Lavaṇāsura torments the worlds with his vile nature and the special power of the spear.”
Rāma immediately asked which one of his brothers would volunteer to venture into slaying the rākṣasa. Śatrughna came forward and said he would like to be of help; he said Lakṣmaṇa and Bharata had already done their tasks by going with Rāma to the forest and leading the life of an ascetic in Nandigrāma respectively. Rāma gifted Śatrughna a powerful arrow created by Viṣṇu and sent him with a large army to vanquish Lavaṇāsura.
On his way, Śatrughna camped at Vālmīki’s āśrama and that very night, Sītā gave birth to twin sons. As soon as Vālmīki heard the news of their birth, he prepared a bhūtaghni – a protective amulet, one each for the infants. Picking the cut tips of kuśa grass as well as the remaining stalks called lava, the sage prepared bhūtaghnis which would ward off malignant beings. The sage also declared that the firstborn would thus be called Kuśa and the younger one would be named Lava. Śatrughna heard about the birth of his brother’s sons and also the cheerful cries uttered in the name of Sītā and Rāma.
The next morning, Śatrughna took leave of Sage Vālmīki and arrived at the āśrama of Sage Cyavana on the banks of River Yamunā. He slew Lavaṇāsura using the arrow Rāma had gifted him. The devas, upon his request, granted him the city of Madhupurī, the realm of the Śūrasenas. After ruling the kingdom for twelve years in peace and prosperity, he left Mathurā to meet Rāma. Delighted to see his younger brother, Rāma honoured Śatrughna with love and sent him back to his city.
~
Rāma continued to rule Ayodhyā with Bharata and Lakṣmaṇa.
One day, an aged brāhmaṇa came wailing to Rāma’s doorstep. He was lamenting with the words, “My son! My dear one! What evil deed have I done in the past for seeing you, my only son, dead? You were just five and had not reached manhood. I have never heard of untimely death in Rāma’s realm. There is no doubt that Rāma must have performed a misdeed for this mishap to occur in his kingdom. O king! You must restore this child to life. Either in the city or in the countryside, there must have been a transgression of dharma by the king. Only when the king is adhārmic, people die before their time.” Thus reviling the king, the brāhmaṇa embraced his son.
Rāma was filled with sorrow as well and immediately summoned his ministers, purohitas and brothers for consultation. When Nārada, one of the purohitas of Rāma said, “O king, listen to the reason behind the untimely death of this child. In the Kṛta-yuga, only brāhmaṇas were tapasvī. In the Tretā-yuga, the kṣatriyas also took to tapas and they became equal to brāhmaṇas in their power. But adharma had placed its first foot on earth in the Tretā-yuga. In the Dvāpara-yuga, adharma places two of its feet on earth and vaiśyas gain the required merit to perform tapas. And in the Kali-yuga, the śūdras may perform tapas as well. Currently, because a śūdra is performing tapas, the little boy has met with unnatural death. An adhārmic act not only pushes its performer to naraka, but causes the king to enter the world of suffering. Thus, whenever you see an evil act being performed, you must take swift action!”
Upon hearing Nārada’s words, Rāma instructed Lakṣmaṇa to preserve the dead boy’s body in a vat of oil and to ensure that it does not undergo decay. Rāma then called the puṣpaka-vimāna merely by his thought. He travelled to the northernmost corner of his kingdom and found no transgression of dharma in that region. But as he travelled towards the South, he saw a large lake on the northern slopes of Mount Śaivala. He saw a person hanging upside down while performing severe tapas. Rāma asked him his identity and the tapasvī said, “I was born to śūdra parents and I am engaged in severe austerities. I would like to attain devatva – the status of a deva in this very body; I am not lying, my lord, but I would like to attain svarga in this body. I am known by the name Śambūka.” But even as the śūdra was speaking, Rāma pulled out his sword and chopped his head off.
Rāma then headed to the āśrama of Sage Agastya. The muni offered him affectionate hospitality and congratulated him on his deed. He said, “You have now established dharma and brought the dead boy back to life. And please, dear Rāghava, favour me by accepting this divine ornament, which was fashioned by Viśvakarmā.” The sage narrated the story of Śveta and the adhārmic king of Ikṣvākus named Daṇḍa. Rāma performed the sandhyāvandana, spent the night at the āśrama and returned to Ayodhyā in his puṣpaka-vimāna.
Upon returning to Ayodhyā, Rāma told his brothers about his desire to perform the aśvamedha to establish dharma in his realm. He requested the guidance of the Vasiṣṭha, Vāmadeva, and other purohitas and sent invitations to Sugrīva and Vibhīṣaṇa to participate in the aśvamedha.
To be continued...
[The critically constituted text and the critical edition published by the Oriental Institute, Vadodara is the primary source. In addition, the Kannada rendering of the epic by Mahāmahopādhyāya Sri. N. Ranganatha Sharma and the English translation by Sri. N. Raghunathan have been referred.]
