The Ramayana (104 page)

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Rama ruled the earth for ten thousand years and it was an age of plenty, an age of grace and perfection. But after Sita left the world, he himself was always lonely, and pined for her. One day, Yama arrived at his gates, in the guise of a rishi. The mendicant said to Lakshmana, who went out to receive him, “The Muni Atibala sent me to see your brother. Tell Rama I have come with a message from Atibala, to fulfill a great mission.”

Lakshmana came in haste to Rama, and said, “A muni who shines like the sun has come to see you. He says he is on a great mission and the Maharishi Atibala sent him.”

Rama said, “Show him in to me.”

The rishi entered, and cried in the sweetest voice, “Hail to thee, O God upon the earth!”

Rama received him with honor. He offered him arghya, madhurparka, and a golden chair to sit upon. The king said, “Tell me why you have come to Ayodhya, my lord. Is there anything we can do for you? What is the message you have brought for me?”

The muni glanced around him, then said, “Rama, the message I bring is only for you. You must swear that while I give you the message, if any man hears us or sees us, you will kill him yourself.”

He spoke almost casually, but it was plain he meant what he said. Rama said gravely, “So be it.” He turned to Lakshmana. “Stand guard outside the door, and if anyone enters, or sees the muni and me, or hears what we are saying, he shall die.”

The chamber was cleared, and Lakshmana shut the door and stood outside. Rama turned again to the hermit. “Now tell me what you have come for.”

That rishi said to Rama, “Listen, then, to the message I bring, for he who sends the message is the Lord Brahma. Brahma says to you, ‘Narayana, in the beginning of creation, I was born from the lotus that sprouted from your navel as you lay upon the ekarnava, the single and undivided sea.

“‘Rama, you are the God Vishnu; and you have said that you will come down into the world, from age to age, to protect it from evil. You came as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, and Parasurama, and established dharma. Now you have incarnated yourself as a kshatriya and broken the bonds of darkness again.

“‘But your mission is over and it is time for you to leave the earth. He who brings this message to you is Yama Deva, Death himself. But if you want to remain in the world for some more time, you may, with my blessing.'

“So says the Lord Brahma to you, Rama,” Death said.

Rama began to laugh, gently and in joy. He answered the messenger, “Why, I am delighted you have come, my lord. I am ready to return to where I came from. I came because the Devas asked me to, and all my tasks have been accomplished. There is nothing to keep me back on earth.”

Now it happened that while Rama sat speaking to Yama, the Rishi Durvasa, who is said to be an amsa of the Lord Siva, appeared in the palace of Ayodhya. He strode up to Lakshmana and said, “I must see Rama at once; I have come for a great purpose.”

Lakshmana bowed to the muni, and said with folded hands, “My lord, my brother is not to be disturbed. I beg you, wait for just a while and he will see you.”

But Durvasa's temper was a legend across the three worlds, and his eyes turned red as wild roses, his face grew dark. He said in a tone that brooked no refusal, “Go and announce me to Rama, or I will curse you, your brothers, your sons, and all this land of Bharatavarsha.”

Poor Lakshmana thought quickly, “If I go in now, only I will die; the others will not be cursed.”

Lakshmana entered the chamber where Rama sat with Yama and mumbled, “My lord, the Rishi Durvasa is here and he insists on seeing you immediately.”

With that he retreated, in some fear. Rama jumped up, and, leaving Yama, he hurried out to see Atri's son.

Rama folded his hands and said to Durvasa, “I am blessed that you have come to my city. Tell me, holy one, what I can do for you.”

His brows bristling, Durvasa replied, “Today I wish to end my fast of a thousand years and I have come to your home to eat my first meal. Give me food, Rama.”

Rama had the finest, most auspicious food fetched for Durvasa. He served the rishi with his own hands and watched him eat as if it were amrita he was having. Durvasa washed his hands; he blessed Rama and left Ayodhya. Rama saw him off at his gates and then stood as if he had been struck by lightning. Though he had shown nothing of what he felt, as long as Durvasa was with him, Rama knew what Death had said should be the fate of anyone who entered the chamber where they sat talking. Lakshmana's life was forfeit, and he, Rama, must make sure his brother died.

Lakshmana said calmly, “Rama, as you love me, you must not break your word. You must take my life; that is your dharma.”

Yama had vanished from Ayodhya. Rama called his sabha, all his rishis and ministers, and told them what had happened. Silence fell in his court. Then Vasishta said sadly, “I fear you must keep your word to Yama. You are the perfect one, and if you break your word, dharma will perish on earth. And then everything will be lost, on all the worlds.”

Rama said softly, in anguish, “Lakshmana, leave me. I cannot bear to kill you, but go away from me this instant. Let me never see you again.”

Lakshmana stood before him with tears streaming, down his face. He touched his brother's feet, folded his hands to him, and, without a word, turned and walked out of the sabha. Never looking back, Lakshmana walked out of the city of his fathers and walked on, blindly, until he came to the banks of the Sarayu.

He knew he could not live without seeing his brother, and when Rama had sent him away, Rama had killed Lakshmana as surely as if he had cut him down with a sword. Lakshmana bathed in the Sarayu; he chanted the mantras for dying. Then he stood in the water and held his breath, meaning to die thus.

It is then that Indra, Lord of the Devas, and the apsaras of Devaloka flung down a storm of unearthly petals on Lakshmana. Indra himself came down in a vimana, and, taking the kshatriya's hand, drew him out of his body and took him back into Swarga. Thus he who is called the fourth amsa of Vishnu returned to his primeval home.

 

40. Rama prepares to leave the world

After he sent Lakshmana from him, Rama was like a man who had lost his own heart. He was more stricken, even, than when he had sent Sita away from Ayodhya. Gathering his last strength, Rama announced, “I will crown my brother Bharata king of the Kosalas today. I must leave as quickly as I can. I must tread the path my Lakshmana went on.”

A lament filled the sabha he had ruled from for ten thousand glorious years. Many of his ministers swooned. Bharata was numb for a while. But then, finding his voice, Kaikeyi's son cried, “No, Rama, I will not be king in Ayodhya after you leave. I beg you, crown Kusa king of southern Kosala, and Lava lord of the northern territories. I mean to come to the vana with you, Rama. Let messengers ride at once to Shatrughna and tell him what we mean to do.”

Outside, a great wailing filled the city of Ayodhya, as the news spread like fire through the homes and the people came thronging into the streets. Finally, they all prostrated themselves, men, women, and children, before Rama's palace, from a grief they could neither bear nor express in any other way.

Vasishta said to Rama, “The people have prostrated themselves in the streets. You must ask them what they intend. They, too, are your children, Rama.”

Rama came out and the people rose before him like a tide of love. They said to him, “Rama, we will follow you out of Ayodhya and out of the world, if that is where you mean to go. We will follow you with our women and children. This is what we want; you are our refuge.”

With tears in his eyes, Rama said to them, “So be it.”

The same day, Rama had Lava and Kusa crowned kings of northern and southern Kosala. He gave each son a thousand chariots and ten thousand elephants and horses. He gave them vast gold and jewels, and sent his own gurus to be their counselors.

Meanwhile, messengers had already ridden to Shatrughna in his Madhura. These men rode without pausing for three days and nights to arrive in that city. They told Shatrughna about all that had transpired. They told him how Yama had come to Ayodhya, and Durvasa; how Lakshmana had left the city, and how Lava and Kusa had been crowned. They told him that Lava had been given the northern city called Saraswati, and Kusa another city in the south, which had been named Kusavati.

The messengers told Shatrughna how the people of Ayodhya had decided they would leave the city of their fathers, and follow Rama and Bharata into the next world. They told Shatrughna all this, and he sat as if he had been turned to stone. Then those men cried, “Shatrughna, hurry. You have not a moment to lose.”

Shatrughna summoned his priest, Kanchana, and said, “We must have my sons crowned at once. I cannot live in this world after my brothers have gone.”

His son Subahu was made master of Madhura, and his other prince, Shatrughati, the lord of Vidisa, which is also called Bhelsa. Shatrughna divided his army and the contents of his treasury and granary, and gave each of his sons an equal portion. Then, riding alone in his chariot, he journeyed to Ayodhya.

Shatrughna found Rama, clad in white silk, sitting among the great rishis of the earth. Shatrughna folded his hands and said to his brother, “I mean to follow you out of Ayodhya and out of this world, if that is where you are going. I beg you, don't say you will not take me with you. For your word must never be broken, especially by me.”

Rama smiled, “You may come with me, Shatrughna.”

Meanwhile, they heard a noise at the gates, and saw that an army of vanaras, rakshasas, and reekshas had arrived in the city of the Sun. Sugriva, like a flame, was at their head. Somehow they also had heard the news.

Sugriva said to Rama, “We, too, have come to follow you out of the world. I have made Angada king in Kishkinda. You know all these loyal vanaras, rakshasas, and reekshas, Rama. We will not live this life any more, when you are gone.”

Rama seemed mildly dazed. His eyes and heart were full. He said, in some helplessness, “So be it.” But then he turned to Vibheeshana and said, “But you, my friend, will not come with me. You must remain in the world and be king in Lanka for an age more. No, don't protest, Vibheeshana, my brother. There is deep reason for what I am saying. You must continue to rule from Lanka and you must worship Vishnu in your city.”

Vibheeshana hung his head and replied sadly, “So be it, my lord. I will do as you say.”

Rama turned next to Hanuman. “You always told me you meant to live in the world for a long time. Let there be no change in that, for the world has dire need of the likes of Vibheeshana and yourself.”

The always serene Hanuman said, “You are alive in my heart, wherever you may be. I will live in this world for as long as the Ramayana is told in it.”

Rama said, “Five of you loyal ones shall live in the world at least until the end of the dwapara yuga. Vibheeshana, Hanuman, Jambavan, Mainda, and Dwividha. Some may remain longer, in subtle bodies and guises, to ensure that dharma never perishes entirely on earth.”

They sat together, those friends, through the long night. And when night's final, darkest, most silent yaama ended, Rama said to Vasishta, “My lord, let the fire of agnihotra, which I lit myself, go before us all as we leave Ayodhya. Let the vajapeya serve as the royal parasol. Let every ritual be performed, my guru, so our departure is auspicious.”

Vasishta began to perform those rites for the final journey, as they are set down in the Shastras. Rama went into his apartment and bathed. He donned his finest silks, and, having prayed at his family altar, emerged like a soft dark sun. He took up the kusa grasses from near the agni, and walked out of his palace and the city he had ruled without blemish for ten thousand years.

Never had his people seen him so radiant. Without a backward glance, Rama walked toward the Sarayu, and it is told that the agnihotra, embodied, went before him in a form of flames. A hundred great astras, also in manlike forms, walked before Rama, as did his bow, the Kodanda. Lakshmana's spirit walked beside his brother, on his right, and Bhumi Devi materialized to walk at his left.

The Vedas all followed Rama, embodied as pristine brahmanas, the Gayatri as a Goddess, the Omkara, and Vasatkara. The great rishis and the Devas of the earth walked behind Rama, and above and below the gates of heaven opened wide to receive them. The women of Ayodhya, the old men, the servants, and the eunuchs followed him. Bharata, Shatrughna, and their families walked with him. All the kshatriyas of Kosala went with him, with their wives, sons, and daughters. The ministers of Rama's sabha followed him, in the crowd; even the cows and bulls of Ayodhya walked in that throng. Every man, woman, and child he had ruled went with Rama, as he came out under a cobalt sky and walked serenely toward the Sarayu.

The birds of Kosala, the deer, and every other creature, butterflies and fireflies, all followed Rama, knowing that he was leading them toward death. Rich and poor walked side by side, no difference between them, and a tide of bliss swept over that great and motley crowd of men and vanaras, rakshasas and reekshas. Why, even the dark bhutas of the land followed blessed Rama, in bhakti, and without a shred of doubt that he would lead them to salvation.

Rama walked for a yojana and a half due west, and saw the Sarayu sparkling before him like a river of blue jewels. All the world was hushed as Rama followed the river upstream. Today, a thousand whirlpools marked the currents of the Sarayu. The river knew what a day of moment this was. The immense crowd followed Rama in absolute silence.

The sky was brighter than it had ever been, since the sky was made above the earth. It was alive today; it pulsed with divine energy. Now the Devas of the air, Indra's people, crowded the firmament in their vimanas. They and a million others, all immortal ones, were golden shadows above. The wind that blew across the world was full of light and bore the scents of Devaloka, richly.