Srivaishnava Network

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Whether it be the “Silver Screen” or the Idiot Box, narration of a story requires a special talent, if it is to grip the attention of viewers. Even the best of stories would fail to enthuse, if told in a lackadaisical manner.

We often find the paradox of an extremely good storyline suffering due to insipid narration. If the director wants to keep the viewers’ attention riveted to the screen, he has to ensure that at no point the picture or serial suffers a drag. To this end, several techniques are employed by successful Directors. One of these is the Flashback.

In simple terms, Flashback can be defined as the out-of-turn narration of an important event in the story. Normally, episodes in the tale are narrated sequentially, in their logical order of occurrence. Thus, in telling the tale of a person, we find his birth chronicled first, then his youth, his growing-up into an adult and finally into an old man. The events at each stage of his life are narrated in the chronological order of their occurrence. You don’t find his marriage recounted at the fag end of his life, nor his graduation told after his middle-age happenings. This is the normal mode of story telling.

In the case of a Flashback, however, an event belonging to an earlier part of the story is narrated subsequently, with telling effect.

When the hero, now in the evening of his life, meets a lady (who looks vaguely familiar) at a party by sheer chance, his fading memory is jogged into action. His thoughts fly back to the golden years of his youth, when he had met the lady in question and had lost his heart to her. However, due to the intervention of the lady’s parents who consider the impecunious hero an unsuitable match for their daughter, the girl is spirited away to a distant hill-station, never again to be seen by the hero. The hero pines away for her, but in time, forgets the ladylove and marries another girl, raising a happy family of sons and daughters. All these memories of the past, some pleasurable and some painful, suddenly flood into the hero’s mind, giving him pangs of intense and inexpressible emotion.

In this tale, the normal mode of narrative would be to chronicle the hero’s tender love and affection for this strange lady, while portraying his youth and before his marriage with the second woman in his life. However, we find that viewers are kept ignorant of this significant event in the hero’s life, till almost the very end. Then, to give an interesting twist to the tale, this episode is brought in almost as an afterthought, totally out-of-turn, at a period in the hero’s history to which it doesn’t belong.  This, then, is the Flashback.

All Readers who patronise films would agree that this technique is employed with telling effect by most Directors. The surfacing of a significant event at a later stage in the tale provides an element of surprise and serves to sustain viewer interest. Thus, the Flashback is indeed an indispensable tool, which every Director keeps hidden in his bag of tricks, in his efforts to keep the narrative interesting and the viewer guessing till the very last scene.

Who do you think was the first to employ this Flashback, whether in print or on the screen? Several famous names spring to your mind-Cecil B. Demille and so on. You would however be wrong, however ancient a director you were to mention.

“Since when did you turn into a film critic? And shouldn’t you stick to what you know (or think you know), rather than venture into alien areas?” enquires my impatient daughter, who insists on reading an article while being composed, without waiting for the end product to emerge. Ruing the impertinence of today’s youth, I finally decide to get to the point.

If Srimad Ramayanam is known as the “Adi Kaavyam”, it is not without reason. Predictably, it is the very first work of Epic proportions known to mankind. It is perhaps the first attempt to reduce in writing, a tale spanning more than 11000 years (Sri Rama is reported to have reigned for eleven thousand years-”Dasa varsha sahasraani, dasa varsha sataani cha-Ramo raajyam upaasitvaa”), thus becoming the first historical work. It is the first narrative to bring into play and chronicle the doings of a bewildering number of characters, good and bad. It is the first work to portray the “nava rasaas” or the nine types of emotion and the first too to bring to man the exalted Vedic wisdom in an extremely palatable form. It is the first guidebook for Mankind, laying down the do’s and the don’ts, not in the form of cryptic exhortations as in the Vedas, but by portrayal in the eminently acceptable format of a story, albeit a true one. It is the first eyewitness account, having been written down by Sri Valmiki, as he saw it with the aid of Brahma’s blessing. It is the first book too to accord an exalted pedestal to women-so much so that the entire Ramayanam is considered to be but a tale of Sita Piraatti-”Kaavyam Ramayanam kritsnam Seetaaya’s charitam mahat”.

With so many first’s to his credit, is it surprising that Sri Valmiki was the first creative artiste to employ the Flashback technique too? And not once, but several times throughout the course of the Epic. And each time with a telling effect that leaves the reader surprised and stupefied. All these Flashbacks serve to sustain reader interest in a story, which has a fairly simple outline and could be told in a few sentences. If this tale has been spun out, in all its intricate and engrossing detail, into a mammoth work of 24000 couplets, readers would understand the distinguished Author’s resort to the Flashback, to ensure that the reader’s interest is retained undiminished till the very end. A few such instances are recounted below.

We know only too well the two boons Kaikeyee was granted by Dasaratha, in return for her assistance at the Emperor’s battle with Sambaraasura. What would be the logical context to recount this episode? Naturally, this event belongs to the initial chapters, notably the 6th, which chronicles Dasaratha’s accomplishments in detail.

However, the first we hear of this is from the mouth of Manthara, who reminds Kaikeyee of the event of the distant past and advises her to seek the two boons for the coronation of Bharata and the banishment of Sri Rama. Readers would appreciate that it is this timely reminder of the hunchback that changes the entire course of the Epic, but for which Rama would have been duly anointed Prince on the appointed day and the purpose of the avataaram (viz., Ravana vadham) would have remained unaccomplished. Thus the very first Flashback in the epic serves to impart an interesting turn to the tale.

Another tale relating to Dasaratha, which is not recounted in the chronological context, is his accidental killing of an elderly Rishi’s son. The victim, when breathing his last, curses the Emperor to suffer from the same pangs of separation from his progeny, which the slain Rishikumara’s elderly and blind parents would. Though Dasaratha must have had many a private moment with his Queen Kousalya during his long reign of sixty thousand years, the Emperor sees fit to tell her about this, only after Rama’s departure to the forest, his memories jogged by his own Putra Shokham. The Flashback here serves to emphasise the poignancy of the situation, with Dasaratha, about to breathe his last due to the sudden loss of the apple of his eye, engaging in a bout of soul-searching and confession.

Another interesting Flashback, relating to Sita Piratti, occurs in the Sundara Kandam, whereas the event actually belongs to the Aranya Kandam. While Aranya Kandam contains many an intimate detail about the idyllic sojourn the Divine Couple had in the picturesque woods, somehow the incident involving Kakasura, (the vile crow that pecked at Piratti’s breast and was duly chastised by Sri Rama) is omitted. We come to know of this only much later from the words of Sita Devi, when She narrates it to Sri Hanuman in the Asoka Vanam, guarded day and night by Ravana’s bestial minions.

A perusal of the Ayodhya Kandam alone would leave us with the impression that arrangements for Sri Rama’s coronation were undertaken immediately after the wedding at Mithila and the marriage party’s return to Ayodhya.  Sri Valmiki does tell us that Sri Raghava spent many a pleasurable month in the company of Vaidehi. However, the exact time that elapsed between the wedding and the departure to Dandakaaranyam is to be known from the Lady’s own words much later, in quite a different context. Sri Janaki tells Ravana (come in the garb of a Sanasi to abduct Her), in a self-introductory speech, that She spent an extremely pleasurable twelve years at Ayodhya, before the cruel machinations of Kaikeyee drove Her to the jungle.

Several such Flashbacks can be found in Srimad Ramayanam, which add colour and character to the beautiful tale. In chronicling the story of Rama, Valmiki could very well have struck to a prosaic form of narrative, of recounting events in the chronological order in which they took place.  It is the Master Story-teller in Valmiki that makes him resort to strategic omissions and inclusions at appropriate places, to make the Epic not only a guidebook of human conduct, but an extremely interesting one too.

Srimate Sri LakshmiNrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

We saw how Sri Rama gave in to His beloved wife, in their argument about whether or not Sri Mythily should accompany Him to the forest.

To demonstrate that married life is a matter of give and take, a matter of appreciating the other’s viewpoint and a matter of being reasonable rather than adamant, we shall see another occasion when the Divine Couple had an argument, where Sri Janaki ultimately gave in to Sri Raghava’s reasoned arguments. The second debate that the two had, dispels the popular misconception, especially in the western world, about women in ancient India being servile and ignorant, mere ornamental objects meant for pleasure, from whom nothing intellectual could be expected.

To digress a little, all the women portrayed in Srimad Ramayanam are extremely intelligent, capable of highly advanced thought processes and well versed in their respective spheres. Many of them were adept at statecraft, some at war: and we find some aware of the subtlest aspects of Dharma. Even if you take the least educated among them, Manthara, the arguments she advances, in favour of Sri Bharata’s coronation and Sri Rama’s exile to the jungle, are quite well reasoned-out and persuasive. That she is able to bring Kaikeyi (who loves Rama more than even Kousalya) around to a diametrically opposite viewpoint, is no small tribute to the hunchback’s thought-processes and oratorical accomplishments. If this is the attainment of one of the lowest of Ayodhya’s female citizens, then one is not at all surprised at those of Kaikeyi (who helped Dasaratha win a war against the dreaded SambarAsura) or of Kousalya, whose parting words to Sri Rama on the eve of His departure for the jungle constitute a distillation of righteousness, or even those of Sri Sumitra, whose homilies to Sri Lakshmana

(“RAmam Dasaratham viddhi, mAm viddhi JanakAtmajAm
AyOdhyAm atavIm vidddhi gaccha tAta yathA sukham”)

ring still in our ears as the best advice to one bent on service to the Divine Couple. In no way inferior are TArA and MandOdarI, who render sterling counsel to their respective husbands, who, had they listened to the same, would have prospered, instead of meeting a gory death at the hands of Rama. Even a woman of apparently lowly origins like Sri Shabari, belonging to the hunter class, is hailed to be well-versed in the finer points of Dharma-”ShramaNIm dharma nipuNAm”– acquired through sincere service to her Acharyas.

Thus, it is not at all surprising to find Sri Janaki raising arguments based on a fine perception of what was right in a particular situation.

The Rishis of DandakAraNyam appeal to Sri Rama for relief from the constant torment of rAkshasAs, who not only create all sorts of hurdles to the performance of sacrifices, but also inflict often fatal injuries on the innocent sages. These Rishis assemble at the Sharabhanga Ashramam and display to Sri Raghava the innumerable injuries sustained on account of the onslaught.

“Ehi pasya shareerANi munInAm bhAvitAtmanAm
hatAnAm rAkshasai: ghOrai: bahoonAm bahudhA vanE”

Each tapasvI’s body sports more scars than would that of a warrior. The Rishis perform Sharanagati to Sri Rama (“tatastvAm sharaNArttham cha sharaNyam samupastthitA:”), seeking permanent protection against the onslaught of the unholy.

Moved beyond measure by the sufferings of the helpless Rishis, Sri Rama immediately vows to destroy the rAkshasAs, considering this a heaven-sent opportunity to be of assistance to the holy men. He assures the Rishis of protection and exhorts them to shed their fear on this count. This done, He leaves for the Sharabhanga Ashramam.

It is after leaving this Ashramam, that Sri Sita voices Her doubts about Sri Rama’s assurance to the Maharshis, about ridding them of  rAkshasAs.

Sri Valmiki tells us that Sri Mythily began Her submission to Her husband, in an extremely sweet and soulful tone-”hridyayA snigdhayA vAchA bhartAram idam abraveet”. This is a lesson for modern women-if you want to be heard, however reasonable be your words, your presentation has to be friendly, avoiding all rancour and recrimination. Sri Sita’s words, though She is about to question the correctness of Sri Rama’s conduct, are couched in the sweetest possible tone and tenor.

Beginning Her argument, Sri Mythily lays a sound scriptural base for Her averments, by pointing out that there are three great sins prompted by one’s mind-

1) Lying, 2) coveting another’s wife and 3) violence towards others, without due reason.

We have to hand it to Sri Janaki for being persuasive-She commences Her argument by praising Her husband, telling Him that the first two of the aforesaid three sins had never happened and would never occur in His case, given His glorious guNAs. She lavishes further praise on Him by listing His magnificent traits-

“Tvayi Satyam cha Dharmam cha tvayi sarvam pratishttitham”

“Tat cha sarvam MahAbhAga! sakyam bOddhum jitEndriyai:
Tava vasyEndriyatvam cha jAnAmi Subhadarsana!”

Having prepared the ground, Sri Janaki now comes to the nub of the matter and tells Raghava that His vow to destroy the rAkshasAs of DankAraNyam, to protect the Rishis, is wrong, because the rAkshasAs had not done Him any harm directly.

She reminds Rama that they had come to the forest for a life of penance and non-violence and the proposed killing of rAkshasAs would be totally against their avowed objective. She tells Him that nothing could be farther from their quest of peace and tranquility, than to use weapons for tormenting people, be they asurAs or others. She launches into a powerful condemnation of Arms and their destructive nature and recounts how an extremely docile and peaceful Rishi was transformed into a bloodthirsty killer, merely through association with a sword gifted to him by Indra for self-protection.

“Having come to the jungle for observing penance and austerity, having taken to apparels of tree-bark and deer-skin signifying the life of a mendicant, let us not revert to the behaviour of a King, whose ways are violent. Aren’t weapons like the cruel bow and arrow totally in contradiction with a mission of peace? Having come to the forest, let us behave like tapasvIs and not like kshaktriyAs intent on bloodshed! Moreover, our avoiding any confrontation and living a peaceful life is what would be pleasing to your parents too.” says Sri Janaki. Lest this persuasive tone be mistaken for lack of emphasis, She adds firmly that She would never agree to anyone being tormented without reason-”aparAdham vinA hantum lOkAn Veera! na kAmayE”.

Just as She began, Sri Sita winds up Her harangue with more praise for Rama. “I do not presume to advise you, for I am incapable of that. I just draw your attention to certain matters, prompted by my endless love and respect for you. You are the repository of all wisdom and valour. Please do consider my humble submission and take appropriate action, based on discussion with Lakshmana too”. Sri Valmiki’s words here are worth their weight in gold-

“snEhAt cha bahumAnAt cha smArayE tvAm na sikshayE”

It is to be noted that Sri Sita never compels Her husband to adopt the alternative She suggests, but puts the ball entirely in His court-however, the whole exercise is with the aid of powerful and irrefutable arguments, accompanied by parables and illustrations, with subtle hints about the absolute unsuitability of the proposed course of action.

How does Rama react to this? Does He take offence at His wife’s words, apparently presuming to tell Him, of all people, of what was right and wrong? Was He not Dharma personified (“RAmO vigrahavAn dharma:”), in no need of lectures, especially from a slip of a woman, much inferior to Him in age and experience? Notwithstanding the sugarcoated language, what Sita had done was to question His wisdom.  How does a hot-blooded Kshatriya take this? Does He reject His wife’s arguments outright, treating them with contempt and condescension?

Because of the strong bond of love and affection binding them, Sri Rama takes the words of Sita in the proper perspective, realising Her well-meaning sentiments. He doesn’t agree with His wife, but voices His disagreement in the most reasonable and inoffensive terms. He advances eminently sensible and logical arguments in support of His actions and tries to convince Sita of their correctness, rather than force His views upon Her. He doesn’t tell Her, “It is correct because I say so, and what I say goes!”, but talks to Her with all the persuasiveness at His command.

Sri Rama points out to Mythily how the Rishis of DandakAranyam specifically, and all others who seek refuge, are to be protected, even if it entails the loss of one’s life. He tells Her that the Rishis had performed Sharanagati to Him (“MAm SeetE svayam Agamya sharaNyA: sharaNam gatA:”), seeking protection of life and limb and the unhindered pursuit of their holy endeavours, treating Him as their sole refuge-”gatim mrigyamANAnAm bhavAn na: paramA gati:”. They had chosen Him as their sole Saviour-”Raksha na: tvam saha bhrAtrA tvam nAthA hi vayam vanE”. As a Kshatriya, residing whether in the palace or in the forest, it behoved Him to rush to the rescue of the distressed, for which sole purpose He was carrying His bow and arrow. Sri Raghava tells Sita that His keeping His word is paramount to Him, even if it involved theloss of His own life, Lakshmana or even Sita Herself. A promise, once made, should be kept at all cost, especially if it is to Brahmins, says Sri Rama-

“apyaham jeevitam jahyAm tvAm vA SeetE sa LakshmanAm
na tu pratigyAm samshrutya brAhmaNEbhyO visEshata:”

While making it clear to His wife that He had to abide by His word to the Rishis at any cost and hence could not accept Her views, Sri Raghava softens the disagreement by telling Her that it was indeed correct of Her to spell out Her views, because they were prompted by love and good intention. He also appeals to Her to see things from His viewpoint, and praises Her as being dearer to Him than His own life-

“Saha dharma chAriNI mE tvam prANEbhyOpi garIyasI”

Several unique aspects emerge from an analysis of the two arguments the Divine Couple had.

1.      Not a single harsh word was uttered throughout the lengthy exchange. The entire debate was totally free of rancour or recrimination.

2.      Both the beginning and the conclusion of the arguments were marked by absolute cordiality, with each praising the other for their views.

3.      Each person stated His or Her position clearly and firmly, without ambiguity, but in an extremely reasonable manner, devoid of acrimony.

4.      There was absolutely no going off at a tangent nor any resort to irrelevant matters or invective.

5.      While most arguments leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the participants for days thereafter, the aforesaid arguments did nothing of the sort.

6.      While disagreements tend to eat away at the fundamentals of the relationships, the aforesaid arguments resulted in the bonds of love and affection between the couple emerging stronger.

7.      There was a readiness on the part of both to appreciate and accept the other’s viewpoint, once they were convinced of its correctness.

8.      Ego played absolutely no part in the arguments, with neither being dogmatic or obdurate.

Besides being paragons of virtue and models of correct conduct in everything else, the Prince of Ayodhya and the Princess of Mithila also showed us the way in conducting our domestic affairs in a congenial fashion. They showed us that it was possible for couples to have disagreements without their taking on the hue of discord and diatribe.

They showed us too that wife or husband, each must respect the other’s viewpoint and not ride roughshod over the other’s opinions. Looking to these instances and others, which showcase the extremely strong bonds of love binding the Divine Couple, we feel that it is high time every discordant couple was told to read the Ramayana, which would do them immeasurably grater good than an army of Marriage Counsellors.

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

All of us are aware of how debilitating domestic arguments are. Though they may begin quite innocuously, they have an uncontrollable tendency to become serious affairs, with both parties to the disagreement feeling hurt. And often, either of the participants in the argument goes off at a tangent, straying from the core subject to extraneous matters. Usually, what begins as a reasoned effort to convince the other person of his or her error, ends up as a free-for-all slanging match, with tones and tempers raised to unseemly levels. And for hours or days thereafter, the matter leaves a bitter taste in the participants’ mouth, turning people estranged and bitter.

If the matrimony is healthy and the partners flexible, the bitter argument is usually followed by a reconciliation and things return to normalcy. If we were to take a survey of separations and divorces, we would probably find that all of them began with an argument, developed into disharmony, graduated into discord, resulted in mutual incompatibility and intolerance and ultimately ended in a parting of ways between partners, who had sworn to stay together till “death do us part”.

An argument results, when a couple have a difference in outlook concerning a particular matter. As two reasonable adults, a husband or wife should appreciate reason when they see it in the other’s argument and concede gracefully. The problem arises only when one or both of them stick(s) to their stand adamantly, without appreciating the logic of the matter.

And when one of the parties to the argument fails to find reasonable things to say, he or she usually resorts to extraneous matters, insults, abuse, invective and so on. The Sanskrit saying, “SEsham kOpEna poorayEt” highlights the fact that people get angry, when they have no reasonable answer to others’ arguments. And when anger enters the mind, reason deserts it, with predictable consequences.

As in everything else, Srimad Ramayanam has lessons for us in how to have domestic arguments, reasonable ones, and how to appreciate the spouse’s point of view. Like any other marriage, that of the Divine Couple too had its share of arguments-however, what sets these arguments apart is that they were eminently devoid of rancour, discord and acrimony, with both Sri Rama and Sri Sita conceding readily, when they were convinced of the logic of the other’s arguments. And these exchanges left the Couple with considerably enhanced love and affection for each other and the marriage itself emerged considerably enriched, the bonds of matrimony made stronger than before.

The first of these arguments that Sri Janaki has with Her beloved, is over the issue of accompanying Him to the jungle, while He undertook the 14-year vanavAsam imposed by the scheming Kaikeyi. The exchange between the Divine Couple on this occasion highlights for all to see, the unbounded love and affection they had for each other. While Sri Rama doesn’t want the delicate Princess of Mithila to be exposed to the rigours and dangers of a jungle sojourn, Sri Mythily, on the other hand, is equally convinced that Her place is by at the side of Her beloved, wherever be His residence.

When Sri Rama reveals to her the momentous news about His impending journey to the jungle and asks Her to stay behind, Sita Devi is instantly angry at being left behind. This anger, says Sri Valmiki, flowed not out of any ego, pride or sense of self-importance, but purely out of the immeasurable love She had for Rama-”PraNayAt Eva samkruddhA”. She is flabbergasted at the idea of being left behind to spend 14 interminable years without the enchanting company of Her Sri Rama and this found expression in Her words of anger. She tells the Prince that She would indeed accompany Him, walking ahead and removing the thorns and stones in the way, which could hurt Her Lord’s delicate soles-”agaratastE gamishyAmi mridgatI kusha kantakAn”. She tells Rama that She is prepared to endure the inhospitable environs of the jungle, to live on fruits and roots, to travel barefoot on the thorny jungle paths. The immortal words of this young Princess, barely out of Her teens, would bring tears to the eyes of even the most stone-hearted of men and women. She tells Rama that if He is with Her , She wouldn’t mind a vanavAsam of even a thousand years, leave alone a mere fourteen. And why wouldn’t She forsake Her husband’s side? Because the Pati is everything to a married woman and is never to be forsaken under any circumstance. She might have any number of close relationships, with Her father, mother, son or Her friends, but of all these the overriding alliance is that with Her husband, who is Her sole refuge-

“na pitA na Atmaja: na AtmA na mAtA na sakhIjana:
iha prEtya cha nAreeNAm Pati: EkO gati: sadA”

To achieve Her objective of accompanying Sri Rama, She displays all womanly wile by pointing out to Raghava the innumerable days of happiness they could have amidst the romantic and picturesque locale of the jungle.

No husband could resist such words of reason, mixed with the potent potion of love. However, Sri Rama does, prompted by a fear of what the dark and dangerous jungle could hold for a delicate damsel like His beloved. He hence embarks upon a detailed description of the terrors of the jungle, in all of 26 slOkAs spanning a whole chapter, all of them ending with the refrain, “tata: dukhataram vanam”. The Prince is totally determined not to expose the young Mythili to the hard, cruel and dangerous life of the forest.

She reasons, She begs, She beseeches, She sheds copious tears, She threatens to commit suicide by consuming poison, entering the fire or waters-When all this doesn’t work, Sri Sita, out of sheer desperation and the fear of being left behind, hurls at Her husband a biting barb which no man worth his salt can tolerate. She sneers at Sri Rama and wonders whether Her father had married Her off to a woman in man’s garb, incapable of protecting his wife from man or beast-

“kim tvA manyata VaidEha: pita mE MithilAdhipa:
RAma jAmAtaram prApya striyam purusha vigraham”

Which man would put up with such insults? Sri Raghava does, because He knows full well that they are born not out of a desire to abuse, but constitute a last-ditch effort to make Her husband take Her along on the arduous journey to the jungle.

Thus Sita tries all the four strategies listed in the Shastras for achievment of one’s goals-SAmam, BhEdam, DAnam and Dandam, the last comprising Her stinging words casting aspersions on Rama’s bravery.

Though He had made up His mind initially to leave Sita behind, Sri RAma, the ideal husband that He was, doesn’t hesitate to change His mind and agree to take Her along, in the face of Her impassioned plea therefor. He doesn’t stick to His stand adamantly and tell Her to just obey, or else! He doesn’t claim a right, as the husband, to lay down what was to be done, irrespective of whether it was right or wrong.

This volte-face in Sri Raghava’s attitude was possible because He looked not merely at Sri Janaki’s words, but at the immeasurable love and affection, which prompted them. He listens not only to Her words calling Him effeminate, but hears too to the tone of anguish and agony that the lady is feeling over being left behind for not one or two, but fourteen long years. He gathers up Sita in a close embrace and tells Her He considers Her dearer to Him than even the heavens-”na idAneem tvatritE SeetE! SvargOpi mama rOchatE”. He gives in at last and tells Her to make preparations for them to leave for the forests together.

Now, whom would you say won the argument?

To the superficial reader, it would appear that, as is the case in almost all our domestic arguments, the Lady of the House was victorious on this occasion too, Sita managing to get Her way despite Rama’s reservations.

However, to the serious student of Srimad Ramayana, it would be evident that it was the strong bond of matrimony and the inalienable love and affection that characterised it, which emerged victor. There was no winner and no loser in this particular argument-both the Prince of Ayodhya and the Princess of Mithila emerged appreciably stronger from the episode, as a husband and wife who had infinite concern for the other’s welfare. They cared little for proving themselves to be right, through empty and endless debate with each other. Sri Rama was concerned at exposing His young Princess to the dangers and discomfort of the jungle, while Sita was intent on being with Her husband, through thick and thin, offering moral and other support through the impending sojourn in the inhospitable forests.

Marriage counsellors would have to search for other jobs, if everyone started perusing the Ramayana. The divine couple’s flawless conduct, their undisguised affection for each other, their readiness to appreciate each other’s viewpoint and to readily change their own opinion to accommodate the other’s, their moving concern for each other’s welfare, much more than each caring for his or her own-all these set out the argument they had as an exemplary one. Their way of resolving discord sets for us a shining example to emulate for all time.

If this is an argument where Sri Rama gave in to Sri Mythily, there was another where Sri Sita conceded to Her husband. Let us see more about this later.

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka
SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan