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 Let us go back to Sri Rama, where we left him, in the battlefield. Hanuman is at first unable to break the news of the slaying of Sita.
'am solaaL iruththal kanden endra yaan,' 'Me who told him that I saw her, the sweet of words,'
'arakkan kollath thunjinaaL endrum sollath thOndrinEn,' 'have to convey (the news that) she was slain by the ogre.' 'It was I who saw her; I who carried the happy news to my Lord; and how am I going to break this news to him - a news that would put my Lord to untold misery once again. But what had to be conveyed had to be conveyed. It was a double attack on Rama. The pathos built by the poet is something that has to be read, to be enjoyed. By enjoyment, I mean enjoyment of his poetry and his ability to be highly descriptive with the minimum number of words. For how else one is expected to enjoy pathos! I give the transliteration of just one verse followed by its meaning. Just look at the number of physical-states that he is able to pack into a four-line verse and paint a vivid picture within a small canvas.
thudithilan; uyirppum illan; imaikkilan; thullik kaNNEr
podithilan; yaadhum ondrum pugandrilan; porumi uLLam
vedithilan; vimmip paarin veezhndhilan; viyarththaan allan;
aduththu uLa thunbam yaavum arindhilar amararEyum.
thudithilan - he did not tremble (was shocked beyond that); uyirppum illan - his breathing stopped (slowed down); imaikkilan - did not bat an eyelid; thullik kaNNEr podithilan - did not shed a tear; yaadhum ondrum pugandrilan - he did not utter a word; porumi uLLam vedithilan - did not weep with a broken heart; vimmip paaril veezhndhilan - nor did he fall on the ground with a cry. viyarththaan allan - even sweat did not appear (it is a natural physical function to sweat under stress. But he was beyond that too.) aduththu uLa thunbam yaavum arindhilar amararEyum - even the Devas did not know the extent of his distress.
Rama was shocked beyond words; beyond emotions; beyond movement; beyond everything. Then Hanuman broke the second news of the expedition of Indrajit to Ayodhya. It was not the loss of his Sita alone. It was the news that Indrajit has moved towards Ayodhya in his pushpaka vimana. He might kill everyone. He may cause untold misery to the people of Ayodhya. He might kill his mothers three. He considered Kaikeyi, who sent to him on exile as his own mother still. The thought froze him into inaction for a moment. The immensity of emotions then makes him fall down, unconscious. He fell down like lifeless, says Kamban.
 This is the height of loss that a person can ever think of. God forbid. Loss of wife and the news of her being slain, when the protector is so close with drawn sword, with a mighty bow and a quiver that remains ever filled up - the arrows returning by themselves. What more! He might lose his kith and kin in a distant hometown. Should I remain here or should I go there? Should I follow that wretch, find him out, kill him, avenge my loss, and protect my people or should I remain here?
Lakshmana was his usual self again! He could not bear this any more. His brother was in distress. With an uncontrollable rage, he boils up. He wants Rama to throw his Dharma to dogs. Enough of it! Let us swing into action. Otherwise, it would be a shame on us that we could not protect anyone that we were supposed to protect.
angum iv aramE nOkki arasu izandhu adavi eydhi
mangaiyai vanjan patra varambu aziyaadhu vaazhndhom
'You spoke of Dharma. Your path of righteousness led us to the forest. And it drove us till we lost Sita. Your Dharma is of no use now. If we remain inactive with distress, we will be laughed at as weaklings and who would not shackle us and enslave us?
(To be continued)
Hari Krishnan
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