19. ALONE BY THEMSELVES :

The citizens who had slept on the bank
of the Tamasa woke up in the morning
and looked round. They were surprised to
see that Rama and the chariot had
disappeared. They followed the track of
the chariot-wheels but were disappointed
to find that it was lost in the main road to
the capital.



They returned home to their own
houses and sought satisfaction in reviling
Kaikeyi. Without Rama, the city was
bereft of beauty and wrapt in gloom.



Sumantra and the princes had crossed
the Tamasa long before dawn and
travelled far into the forest. Crossing
several streams, they approached the
southern boundary of the Kosala country.
As they journeyed on, Rama said
Sumantra: "I wonder when I shall hunt
again in the forest of Sarayu. Is hunting
good for princes? Perhaps, it is, in
moderation."




Thus conversing on many matters, they
went forward. When they reached the
southern boundary of the kingdom, Rama
stopped the chariot and facing north
towards Ayodhya, bent his head in a
prayer, saying: "O, jewel among cities! O
ancient capital of the Ikshwakus! Shall I
finishing my penance in the forest, live to
see my father and mother and you? Grant
me that supreme joy."



The chariot reached the bank of the
Ganga. They proceeded along the bank,
admiring the beauty of the river. Finding a
spot of surpassing charm, Rama said: "We
shall spend the night here."



Untying the horses they sat under a
tree. Guha, the chief of the region, having
learnt already from his men that Rama
would be coming there, came forward
with his retinue to greet Rama and
Lakshmana.



He had unbounded love for the royal
family and for Rama. Being the chieftain
of the tribes who dwelt on the banks of
Ganga, he was a man of great prestige and
power. Rama and Lakshmana rose to greet
Guha, even while the latter was still at
some distance from them. Guha
welcomed them with a hearty embrace,
saying: "Regard this land as your own.
This place is as much yours as is
Ayodhya. Who can hope to have a guest
like you? It is indeed my good fortune."
Guha had prepared a lavish
entertainment. He said, "Feel perfectly at
home and happy in my kingdom. You
may spend all the fourteen years with us
here. You will not lack anything I assure
you. Looking after you will be a pleasure
and privilege to me. Be gracious enough
to accept my hospitality."



Warmly embracing Guha again, Rama
said: "Brother, I know how deep is your
love for me. Your wish is itself as good as
hospitality rendered. I am bound by my
vows and must refuse anything more. I
have come to dwell in the forest and not to
enjoy life as a chieftain's guest. These
horses are my dear father's favorites. Pray
feed them well. We shall be content with
simple food and rest for the night."



They lay under the tree for the night.
Guha and Lakshmana kept awake,
conversing with Sumantra.



Said Guha to Lakshmana: "Brother, do
go and rest. There is a bed made ready for
you. My men will keep careful watch.
None dare do anything in the forest
unknown to me. Have no anxiety
regarding Rama. Do sleep."



Lakshmana replied: "How can I find
sleep, Guha? Here, lying on the bare
ground, is Sita, daughter of the great
Janaka and daughter-in-law of the great
Dasaratha. The great Purushottama
himself who could subdue the three
worlds lies stretched on the grass. How
can I sleep who sees this? I wonder how
Ayodhya is bearing it. He queens'
apartments must be loud with wailing. I
even doubt if at this moment Kausalya
and my mother are alive. My father
indeed found strength somehow to say to
Rama, 'Go to the forest,' but I doubt if he
has strength enough left to survive Rama's
actual departure. And if he has passed
away, our mothers too will have given up
their lives. And here we are, deprived
even of the privilege of doing the last
offices to the dead. In any case it is hardly
possible that our father and mothers will
be alive to greet us, when we return to
Ayodhya after our term in the forest."



Thus spoke Lakshmana in sorrow.
Guha was in tears. The night was spent in
such sad conversation.



Early next morning, Rama told
Lakshmana: "We must now cross the
river. Ask Guha to make ready a boat big
enough for crossing this broad river."
Guha ordered his men to get this done and
informed Rama.
Sumantra bowed low and stood before
Rama seeking his further commands.
Rama understood Sumantra's unuttered
grief and, laying his hand on Sumantra's
shoulders, said: "Sumantra, return to
Ayodhya with all speed and be at the side
of the King. Your duty is now to look
after him."
"O Rama," exclaimed Sumantra,
"rectitude, learning and culture seem to be
of no value. You and your brother and
Vaidehi are going to live in the forest.
What is going to be our lot? How are we
going to fare under Kaikeyi's rule?" He
now wept like a child.



Wiping the tears from Sumantra's eyes,
Rama said: "Our family has known no
nobler friend than you. It will be your task
to console my father. His heart is river by
grief. Whatever his commands carry them
out dutifully. Do not ask yourself whether
he wants a thing for himself or with a
view to pleasing Kaikeyi. Avoid giving
him any pain of mind. Have no anxiety
about us. You should say this on my
behalf to my aged father who is stricken
with a grief he never knew before. Clasp
his feet as you have seen me do, and
assure him from me that none of us, not I
nor Lakshmana, nor Sita, feel injured or
sorry at having been sent away from
Ayodhya. We look forward to fourteen
years of forest life which will speed on
happy wings, and then surely we shall
return to his feet for blessings. Give our
love to my mother Kausalya, and tell her
that protected by her blessings we are well
and give a like message to my
stepmothers, especially to Kaikeyi, lest
she should think we have parted in anger.
Tell the Maharaja that it is my earnest
prayer that he should hasten with the
installation of Bharata, so that he may be a
comfort to him in our absence."



But Sumantra, unable to restrain his
grief, burst out: "How am I to return and
with what words can I give comfort?" And
when he looked at the empty chariot, he
wept and said: "How shall I drive this
chariot that stands desolate without you?"
Once again Rama spoke words of
comfort and courage to Sumantra and
urged on him the duty of patience, and
sent him home.



"Guha", said Rama, "I could indeed
spend fourteen years in your kingdom as
you desire. But would that be fulfilling
my vow? I have left Ayodhya to fulfil my
father's pledge. I must therefore lead the
life of a tapasvi. I must not touch dishes
daintily cooked and served. We have to
live only on fruits, roots and permissible
kinds of meat such as we offer in the
sacrificial fire."



Comforting Guha thus, the brothers got
their locks matted with the milk of the
banyan. They helped Sita into the boat
and then got into it themselves. Guha bade
the boatmen to row it across.
The boatmen took them quickly across
the river. At midstream Sita offered a
prayer to the goddess of the river: "Devi,
help us fulfil our vow and return safe to
our homeland."



They talked as they went on. They
reached the farther bank of Ganga. And
there for the first time, the three stood
alone, unattended by friends!



"Lakshmana, you are my sole armed
guard now," said Rama. "You will go
first. Sita will follow. And I shall walk
behind you both. We must save Sita as far
as possible from the hardships of forest
life. Hereafter there will be none to keep
us company and no fun or amusement."



Rama's thoughts went to his mother
Kausalya.



"Lakshmana," he said, "should you not
go back to Ayodhya and look after mother
Kausalya and Sumitra Devi? I shall
manage my forest stay somehow."



Lakshmana replied: "Forgive me,
brother; I am not going back to Ayodhya."
Rama indeed expected no other answer.



Thus now and again we shall see the
human element come up and the divine
prince grieve and talk as common people
do. This is the fascination of the
Ramayana. If Almighty God remains
almighty and does everything Himself,
then where is room or need for an avatar
and how could the dharma of common
men be established?



This is the difference between the
earlier avatars and the later. In the Rama
avatar, the course of human conduct and
the dharma governing it come linked
together. This has been made explicit by
Valmiki.



On the occasion of Sita's ordeal by fire
at the end of the battle, Rama says to
Brahma who appeared then among others
and deprecated the idea of putting Sita to
proof:



"I regard myself only as Rama, son of
Dasaratha, an ordinary human being. Who
I am in reality, where I belong, why I took
birth, are matters on which you must
enlighten me, and I do not know."



While Rama was plunged in thinking
of the mothers left behind, Lakshmana
ministered to him with loving words of
courage and hope.


They spent that night under a banyan
tree and left early next morning for
Bharadwaja's ashrama which they reached
at sunset.


Partaking of the hospitality of the sage,
they besought him to tell where they could
spend the years quietly in the forest and
on his advice and with his blessings left
for Chitrakuta.