In the previous episode we witnessed that Sugriva has forgotten the promise that he had made to Lord Rama for searching Sita. The newly obtained kingdom carries him away and he is into drinks, enjoying all the materialistic pleasures as a king! However on the other side, Rama is passing every second with utter grief of not being near Sita. At one point in time he loses his patience and asks Lakshmana to find out what is Sugriva doing! On the other hand, Lakshmana is furious about the delay as time is running out! Rama eventually calms Lakshmana down and sends him to check on Sugriva. He also asks Lakshmana to warn Sugriva of meeting the same end as his brother Vaali did.
Thus Lakshmana walks furiously towards Kishkinta with his bow and arrows! He was ready to pull down anybody at ease with all his fury! Upon seeing Lakshmana coming along, all the Vaanaraas guarding the gates were terrified! They ran inside to inform Sugriva, but alas! He was not in his normal state of mind! He was high with drinks and was among ladies in the bed! Terrified by this, the Vaanaraas meet Hanuman and explain the situation. Hanuman makes a plan – He asks Taara to go and intercept Lakshmana in the gate! Meanwhile he tries to awaken Sugriva and bring him back to his normal state.
Thus accordingly, Taara comes and stands at the gate as Lakshmana comes along. The moment he saw a woman coming and standing in front of him, he didn’t know how to react and he hung his head down and stood like a statue! He was expecting some male Vaanaraas to come in front and was ready to fight them down, however when a female came in front, he was dumbstruck!
Here is a point wherein there is a slight difference between Valmiki Ramayana and Kamba Ramayana (in Tamil). Valmiki Ramayana says that Sugriva accepted Taara as his wife. Kamba Ramayana says that Sugriva treated Taara as his own mother. Perhaps Kambar changed the version owing to the change in the societal views after numerous generations. This is what we can assume at this point. However if that is the case, we would get another doubt here: Rama just now punished Vaali because he took away Ruma (Sugriva’s wife). Why was that? Here we should note the important difference that Vaali abducted Ruma when Sugriva was alive. That was a mistake. But here, Sugriva accepts Taara as his wife after the death of Vaali. Since the husband is not alive, there is an exception that the widow can re-marry another person. Also, this is a rule only for animals and not for humans. This is another important point to be noted. However, to avoid all these sorts of confusions, Kambar totally changed the entire scene – Sugriva accepted Taara as a mother.
Thus, Taara intercepts Lakshmana. The moment Taara intercepts him, Lakshmana puts his head down and stands in shame! Taara was surprised and thinks. “Oh!! What is happening to this Lakshmana? I’ve never seen any man putting his head down upon seeing me! I should talk something to make him lift his head and look at me!” Thinking thus, Taara offers Lakshmana with all the fruits and vegetables and tries to welcome him as a guest. Lakshmana replies without lifting his head, “I’m not here to eat all this! I normally eat only the left over of what Rama has eaten. That is how it is till today! If I eat this, it would be like betraying my brother! How can I eat if Rama hasn’t eaten anything?”
Upon hearing this, Taara asks him next: “Oh Lakshmana! Fine! But why are you so angry today? What had happened? Is everything alright?” Lakshmana replies back, “Oh! Don’t you know what’s the reason for my anger? You’re talking as if you do not know anything!” Upon which Taara replies, “Oh Lakshmana! I know it! See.. Afterall we are monkeys! We are animals! What did you try to ask? You wanted to ask how can we get carried away by “Kaama” (desire). If “Kaama” carries us away and if it is wrong, is it right for you to get carried away by “Krodha” (Anger)?“ Lord Krishna says in his Bhagawat Gita that Kaama and Krodha are both symptoms of a bigger disease called “Rajo Guna”.
“Kaama yeshaha krodha yeshaha rajo guna samudhbhavaha!”
Thus, as Taara asks pointed questions to Lakshmana, he starts to think and realizes that he was foolishly standing in front of a woman like this! Taara continues to ask few more questions to Lakshmana and we shall wait till the next episode to see what Lakshmana had to reply! Did he lift his head up and see who is standing in front of him? Let’s wait to find out! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 