Today's Beautiful Gem: Pratima (Statue) by
Bhasa, retold by me (Part I)
The story of rAmayaNa is indeed familiar to all of us as it is
one
of our cradle tales. The key villain in the story is kaikeyi, one
of the
three wives of King das'aratha. We also know the story of
s'rAvaNakumAra
(This is also a favourite of Gandhiji). It is the tale about the
boy who
used to carry his blind parents everywhere, how one day he was
trying to
fill his pitcher with water for his thirsty parents, how the
bubbling water
made the hunting king Dasaratha suppose it to be a deer, how the
boy died
of a wound caused by Dasaratha's arrow, and how the grieving
parents of the
deceased boy cursed the king to suffer the pangs of sorrow due to
separation
from his son. Kaikeyi had knowledge of this curse in her
possession. So
she dearly wants her husband and her step-son Rama to be spared
of the ill
effects of this unfortunate s'Apa.
Dasaratha wants to crown Rama as the supreme king of the
ikshhvAku
race. Just at that time, Kaikeyi approaches the king to remind
him of the
boons granted to her. She wants Rama to be banished to the
forests and her
son bharata to be coronated in Rama's place. There was no option
for the
king but to accede to his queen's wishes. Rama, accompanied by
his right
foot sIta and his left foot lakSmaNa willingly heads for the
woods. The
King Dasaratha dies of heart-break due to the separation from his
sons.
Bharata, the other son of Dasaratha for whose sake all this drama
was enacted, was all the while in his maternal grand-father's
house in
nandigrAma. He returns to ayodhya to visit his parents. At the
outskirts
of Ayodhya, he stops the chariot to take some much-needed rest. A
temple-like structure was visible nearby. Bharata enters this
building and
learns that it is a museum housing the statues of the ancient
kings of the
ikshhvAku dynasty. To his surprise, he observes a statue that
resembles his
father, Dasaratha. He asks the curator of the museum whether
staues of
living kings were also housed in that hall. The curator, unaware
that he
was speaking to Dasaratha's son, replies that the statues bear
their
likeness only to dead kings. After listening to these words,
Bharata
swoons. Just at that moment, the retinue of vasishhTa and the
three widowed
queens arrives there to receive Bharata and to escort him for his
coronation. After regaining his senses, Bharata disowns his
mother and
decides to go to the forests and spend his days with Rama.
Om s'aantih: Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao
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