|
Continued from yesterday’s instalment
 ‘Listen to this Lakshmana,’ says Rama.
‘ip piththu aaya vilangin ozhukkinaip pEsal aamO?’
Of what avail it is to discuss the nature of this animal (whose mind and lifestyle cannot be equated with that of a human being)?
‘eth thaayar vayitrinum pin pirandhaar ellaam oththal,’ If one analyses carefully and compares discerningly all the (younger) brothers born of any mother (be it animal or human)
‘baradhan peridhu uththaman aadhal uNdO?’ can any single one of them ever match or excel the shining qualities of
Bharata?
Look what he says! Lakshmana is impelled by anguish at the thought of a brother, Sugriva, having brought someone to kill his brother and when he mentions that to Rama, the latter says, ‘There is no use in discussing animal behaviour. More over, which brother can ever match
Bharata?’
Here is Lakshmana who has sacrificed his entire life in the service of Rama. He has left his wife behind in Ayodhya and has voluntarily and joyfully taken up exile simply because Rama has been exiled. And Rama says Bharata is incomparable as a brother! Many critics see this as a pointed chastisement. “We see him charge Sugriva with unbrotherly conduct, and receive a sharp reprimand at the hands of Rama,” says Sri VVS Aiyar, referring to this incident.
But there is another angle to it. Rama was not in the habit of praising the ones very close to him in their presence. There are just three occasions in the whole of Ramayana when Rama praised Lakshmana in his presence. We saw the first occasion in the Ayomukhi incident (See:
Lakshmana, the catalyst) and we will see the other occasions in our later postings.
 If Lakshmana served Rama, he did so for he considered that as his joy and his natural duty. It never had any other purpose behind it, even a simple word of praise. He never expected anything in return and that was so natural for him. This was in his very core and that is why we find Lakshmana remaining unaffected the least by the words of Rama, which could have been perceived as being blunt and feeling slighted. It is one of the great qualities of Lakshmana to remain undisturbed at this statement.
From this point onwards, the role of Lakshmana is somewhat pushed to the backstage, until we reach the Book of War. To quote Sri VVS Aiyar, “We see him carry Rama’s angry message to Sugriva, who in his drunken revels, forgets to come to Rama with his forces at the appointed time. WE see him take the word out of Rama’s mouth when Vali puts to Rama his last question, and give to Vali the plausible answer, which Rama would not and could not give. In all these places, however, he is only a side-actor. It is only in the Yuddha Kanda that he has the stage wholly to himself for long periods at a stretch.”
We have discussed most of these places and have studied the qualities of Lakshmana as depicted in these scenes. It is now time for us to move on to the Yuddha Kanda to see the distinguished warrior and the exceedingly obedient Lakshmana.
More follows...
Published on 02nd April 2002
Hari
Krishnan
Index
| Next Article
|
