Vasistha Challenges Kaikeyi's Scheme
Ayodhyakanda - Sarga 37
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Ayodhyakanda - Sarga 37
Rama prepares for exile, accepting bark robes. Sita and Lakshmana join him. Vasistha intervenes, rebuking Kaikeyi and praising Rama's influence. Sita remains resolute in following her husband.
After hearing the minister's words, Rama, who was well-versed in etiquette, spoke humbly to his father, King Dasharatha:
"Father, I will live in the forest on whatever is available there. I have renounced all pleasures and attachments. What use do I have for followers? Just as one who gives away a magnificent elephant doesn't cling to the rope used to tie it, I have no attachment to worldly possessions. O best among the virtuous, O lord of the universe, I have no use for this army. I am giving everything to Bharata. Please bring me only tattered clothes and two things: a basket and a crowbar, as I will be living in the forest for fourteen years."
Kaikeyi, without any sense of shame, brought bark robes herself and told Rama to wear them in front of the entire assembly. Rama, the best among men, accepted the bark robes from Kaikeyi. Rama removed his fine apparel and put on the ascetic's garments.
Lakshmana, Rama's devoted brother, also discarded his royal attire and accepted the robes of an ascetic in his father's presence. Sita, Rama's wife, wearing silk clothes, looked at the bark robes meant for her and was frightened like a doe seeing a hunter's snare. With a deeply distressed mind, Sita took the garments made of kusha grass (a type of sacred grass used in religious ceremonies) from Kaikeyi. Unfamiliar with such clothing, Sita asked Rama, "How do the sages who live in the forest wear these bark garments?" Rama, foremost among protectors of righteousness, came forward and fastened the bark himself over Sita's silk garment.
Seeing Rama fasten the bark garment on Sita, the women of the inner apartments shed tears. They pleaded with Rama, saying, "Dear child, no one has ordered Sita to dwell in the forest. Let Sita stay here until you return. Go to the forest with Lakshmana as your companion. This auspicious lady is not fit to live in the forest like a hermit." Despite their pleas, Rama continued to help Sita, who shared his nature, fasten the bark robes.
Vasistha, the royal preceptor, saw what was happening and intervened. He restrained Sita and spoke harshly to Kaikeyi:
"Kaikeyi, you have exceeded all limits of decency. You are evil-minded and a disgrace to your race. You have deceived the king and your behavior does not conform to righteousness. Sita need not go to the forest. She should occupy Rama's royal throne. For every householder, his wife is his very soul. Since Sita is Rama's soul, she can rule this earth."
Vasistha continued, warning that if Sita went to the forest with Rama, the entire kingdom would follow:
The people of the city would go with them
Bharata and Shatrughna would follow their elder brother
The kingdom would be left empty, with only trees remaining
The sage declared:
Wherever Rama dwelled would become the true kingdom
Bharata would not rule a kingdom not wholeheartedly given by his father
Bharata would not live as Kaikeyi's son
There was no one in the world who would not follow Rama
Finally, Vasistha prevented Sita from wearing the bark garment, stating that Kaikeyi's boon only applied to Rama. He instructed:
Sita should be adorned with ornaments
She should be provided with chariots and attendants
All necessities for her forest stay should be given to her
Despite Vasistha's words, Sita remained resolute in her decision to accompany her beloved husband, Rama, to the forest.
This concludes the thirty seventh chapter (sarga) of Ayodhyakanda, the second book of the Ramayana, the great epic composed by the sage Valmiki.