In the previous episode we witnessed Bharata’s meeting with Sage Bharadwaaja and as per the directions given by him, Bharata and his people advance further and reach Chithrakoota where Rama, Lakshmana and Sita were residing. Upon looking around the beauty of the place, Bharata had a feeling that Rama should be residing here somewhere, and thus he advances deeper into the forest area in search of his dear brother.
As Bharata’s army of people advance towards Rama’s hamlet, it was Lakshmana who spotted this – He is sitting on a small treetop so as to keep a vigil of the surroundings, in order to protect Rama and Sita from the potential attack by an enemy. Upon seeing Bharata advancing further, Lakshmana was shocked! He didn’t expect Bharata to come and find out the place of Rama. Bharata, as we all know is all in tears of sorrow and was so eager to worship Rama’s divine face and surrender to his feet and give back the kingdom of Ayodhya to him! However, Lakshmana without understanding any of these immediately jumps down from the treetop with all his fury and runs towards the “Aayudha-Shaala” (The place where the weapons are stored) to take his bow and arrows!) Here we can see that Lakshmana is the next person who mistakes Bharata’s good intentions!
“Yaavanna sharanau braathuhu paarthivavvyanjanaan vithou!
Shirasaa praharishyaami name shaanthir bhavishyathi!!”
Thus, Bharata is approaching Rama to submit the kingdom of Ayodhya and ask for forgiveness at his lotus feet! But, without understanding all this, Lakshmana is getting ready to fight Bharata and kill him and the entire army of people who are following him! Upon seeing Lakshmana going swiftly with the bow and arrow, Rama intercepts him and asks him the reason of his sudden anger! Now Lakshmana answers Rama in a furious tone – “Yes! I’m going! I saw Bharata advancing towards us with a huge army from Ayodhya! I’m going to finish them all at once, although it is our own army! How dare can he come near you with such wicked thoughts? I’m going to finish him off today and Bharata is going to be history from tomorrow!” Kamba Naadar brings out Lakshmana’s fury beautifully in the following “Paasuram”:
“Kudhitthezhan kudhithanan paaredai kuvadu neerezha!!”
Kamba Naadar says that when Lakshmana jumped on the ground from the treetop with all his fury, it seems that the entire world shook for a moment! (“Kudhithanan paaredai kuvadu neerezha”) The water level in the oceans rose up to sky-high levels, unable to bare the pressure! (It is very interesting to note here that people knew the concept of a “Tsunami” even at that age and time!) It is to be remembered that Lakshmana is the incarnation of the great Aadisesha (The Lord of the serpents) and his fury was unable to be borne even by Mother Earth! Upon seeing Lakshmana’s fury, Rama replies to him,
“Ilakkuva! Oru ezhum mezum nee kalakkuvai!”
Rama says to Lakshmana, “Oh my dear Lakshmana! I know that with your strength you can conquer the whole world at ease! However, you should have some intelligence at times too! Although you have infinite strength, you should also be calm and have some level of patience. You should realize that Bharata is not coming to fight with me – Instead, he is coming to me with all his Bhakthi and love for me. Please realize that Bharata is coming to me to surrender at my feet! Please wait for five minutes!”
Lakshmana is not in a state to listen to all these from Rama. He is all ready to go and wage a fierce battle and win over Bharata! Lakshmana asks Rama, “Oh Rama! How can we wait for five long minutes? Every minute is crucial in a war isn’t it? What if your intention is wrong? What if Bharata suddenly comes near you and attacks you?”
Rama continues to reply to Lakshmana, “Oh Lakshmana! Assuming that Bharata is coming to fight with me, you would not find this Rama alive like this!” Upon hearing these words, Lakshmana was shell-shocked! He didn’t understand the meaning of Rama’s words!
Rama further explains to Lakshmana, “Oh Lakshmana! Bharata is also my dear brother! Accordingly I’ve set a framework as to how Bharata would behave and conduct himself with me! It is only because of this that this Rama is alive still! But if Bharata comes and misbehaves in front of me, yes, you might fight with him and win over him! But what is the use Lakshmana? Your Rama would be useless and dead in front of Bharata, the moment Rama comes to know that Bharata has crossed the line! Oh Lakshmana! Please keep in mind that Rama is alive only because of the love and affection of Bharata! The moment I come to know that Bharata has turned against this Rama, then you would never find Rama alive from that very moment itself!”
Thus Lakshmana was somewhat convinced by this detailed explanation given by Rama and hence the three of them eagerly await the arrival of Bharata! We shall also eagerly wait till the next episode to witness the arrival of Bharata and to see what is going to happen next! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 