In the previous episode we witnessed that as Lakshmana was walking down furiously towards Kishkinta, Taara intercepts him. The moment Lakshmana saw a woman coming and standing in front of him, he did not know how to react and hence hung his head down and stood there. At this point, Taara was puzzled and couldn’t understand why isn’t Lakshmana advancing forward and looking at her! She tries to make Lakshmana lift his head and talk. Eventually she asks a few questions to him and we are at this point in witnessing the various questions that she posed. Today we shall continue and look into what Taara speaks and does Lakshamana lift his head and talk with her!
As Taara continues talking, Lakshmana thinks within himself, “Oh! Who is this woman? She is talking something very sensible, which I cannot deny and move forward!” Taara continues, “Oh Lakshmana! Let me tell you about your father and your Guru, Sage Vishwaamithra! Your father was so calm and patient in nature that he was able to rule the great Ayodhya kingdom for so many years efficiently! As a son of the great King Dasharata, how can you become furious for small things like this? Let me also tell you about Sage Vishwaamithra! He was carried away by desires and was with his wife Shakuntala for so many years. He was also carried away by his anger and even forgot to do his daily “Sandhyaavandanam” (A spiritual practice). Hence Lakshmana, please try and control your anger! It can have disastrous consequences in future!”
Upon hearing this, Lakshmana hung his head further down in shame! He was made to look so foolish in front of Taara! Here is a very important learning for all of us from Taara’s words: At any point in time, we should try and control our anger and desires. The more the anger, the more dangerous is it for sustaining relationships, executing and completing important tasks, etc. Hence, we should ensure adequate care to keep our anger in check!
Upon seeing Lakshmana hanging his head further down, Taara is even more puzzled as to how to make him lift his head! She makes a plan now – The only way to make Lakshmana lift his head is to talk about Rama! Now she says, “Oh Lakshmana! I’ve heard that you wouldn’t bear the separation from Rama for even a minute! Now, how many minutes have passed by after coming down from Rama’s place? Ten minutes have passed by, isn’t it?” Upon hearing this, Lakshmana was shocked! He thinks within himself, “Oh! How come this woman knows that I’m so much devoted to Rama? Who is this woman?” Thinking thus, he finally lifts his face and looks at Taara.
At this place, Kambar in his Ramayana text in Tamil writes that upon seeing Taara dressed like a widow, Lakshmana remembers his mothers Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumithra who are also widows. This means, according to the Kamba Ramayana, Taara was accepted by Sugriva as his mother and not as his wife!
Thus at this point, Lakshmana decided not to go further to fight the Vaanaras. In the meanwhile, Sugriva realizes his fault and gets ready to go and meet Rama and Lakshmana to start the search mission for Sita. What happened next? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out!
The Indian Dharma 