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Continued from yesterday’s instalment
 ‘Rama has been his father and I, his mother,’ says Sita of Lakshmana in the Sundara Kanda, when Hanuman takes leave of her, taking her message back to Rama and Lakshmana. She beautifully captures the chief qualities of Lakshmana in a few words at that time.
“Inquiries concerning welfare should be addressed on my behalf and in my name to Lakshmana, that heroic and powerful (younger) brother of Sri Rama, who, having renounced garlands and all kinds of jewels…because of whom Sumitra has earned the title of a blessed mother… who behaves towards Sri Rama as towards his father and treated me as his (own) mother…who serves his elders, is glorious and energetic, yet measured in speech, who is the foremost of those beloved of that prince (Sri Rama) and a replica (in gallantry) of my father-in-law (King
Dasaratha) who is ever dearer to Sri Rama (even) than I and who willingly and efficiently shoulders the responsibility with which he is saddled and on seeing whom Sri Rama (a scion of Raghu) ceases to remember his deceased father…” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kanda, Canto XXXVIII, Sloka 53-61{excerpts})
Who else can depict the qualities of Lakshmana, as also the relationship that exists between Rama, Lakshmana and her own self, than the divine mother herself! It has however to be remembered that when Sita says, ‘Lakshmana is dearer to Rama than I,’ she is does so without the slightest trace of jealousy that is normally associated with such statements. Here is what Rt. Hon’ble Srinivasa Sastriyar has to say on this particular point.
 “Hanuman, who had seen how Rama suffered agonies by thoughts of Sita, must have thought that the man who could survive separation from Sita must be a hard-hearted person. To Hanuman whose opinions of Rama and Sita were so high, Sita herself says, ‘You don’t know! Lakshmana is dearer to my husband than I am.’ Women know this by instinct; they can weigh love in the truest of scales - their innate perception! I wish to ad, ladies and gentlemen that this must have been uttered by Sita without the slightest shadow of jealousy. She herself stood high in Lakshmana’s affection for the sake of Rama, and when she made this assertion about the love of Rama to her, we may take it to be beyond doubt.”
But the fact remains that Rama would, when it comes to choosing between Sita and Lakshmana would prefer the latter and when it comes to choosing between Lakshmana and Satya, would stick to the latter only. Truthfulness was the crème de la crème for him even more than Lakshmana, his alter ego, whom the Poet describes as ‘his very own soul’ that is functioning from outside his body.
Now let us put the very same question to Lakshmana and let us examine what would he choose as the most important thing in his life - and even dearer than his own life. The answer is obvious. Let’s hear the answer from Lakshmana himself.
More follows...
Hari Krishnan
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