Week 3 Story: Rama's Banishment Episode

Figure 1: Depiction of Rama  Wikimedia

“You have been stripped of all property and banished. You are to leave by tonight, and you may only take the supplies that we have laid out before you.”

Rama looked at the provisions that his father had laid out for him: two robes of bark, a water sling, a basket, a spade and small sack of coins.

“Father, this must… there must be some kind of mistake. This is a joke isn’t it?”

Just then, Manthara appeared and spoke.

“Excuse me sir! I think we forgot to give him sandals and sword as well.”

A servant brought Rama sandals and his sword as well. As the servant handed Rama his sword, the reality of the situation finally came to him, and he felt as though the very earth were falling apart. His sword, a khanda given to him by his father had been stripped of its jewel encrusted handle and re-hilted with a plain wooden handle wrapped in string. Worse still, the etchings on the blade describing his family's history had been washed away with acid, leaving his family's story indecipherable. 

Rama tested his sword's balance, confirming that it was indeed his father’s gift. Upon realizing that it was indeed his sword, Rama broke, he cried at his father.

"How dare you do this to me? I have always been a loyal son! What reason do you have to discard me?"

In that moment, desired to kill everyone who stood before them. To cut them down with his ruined saber, even his own father. All other thoughts disappeared as rage washed over him as a wave from the ocean washes away a castle of sand. 

"My son, I have never broken my word, and though it pains me to follow my word now, I have accepted the consequences of my promises. My son, it does not..."

Rama cut off his father.

"NO! NO! How could you value your word over the life of your eldest son? I was slated to be your heir, and yet you would not break an evil promise for me? Deny your promise just this once! I am more important than your word!"

Dasharatha placed his hand on Rama’s shoulder.

"Rama, that is enough."

"Shut up! What do you know?”

“You said that you wanted to be like Vishnu. Did you wish to be a mentally fortuitous hero? Or did you simply desire constant adoration?”

Upon hearing this, Rama broke down in tears, the wave of rage he had just felt receded as a wave does, and he fell to his feet and kissed his father’s feet.

“Father please forgive me, please retain me, even as the lowliest servant, I would rather stay by your side than be forced to leave. Please father, I am so scared.”

“I am sorry my son, but you must leave, and that is my final decree.”

Rama silently stood back up and accepted his father’s last gift. He then went away to change and tossed aside his royal garments and donned the rough clothes that and sandals. He placed the money, water sling, spade, and spare robe into the basket and then slung the basket over his shoulder by a length of rope. He then sheathed his sword and placed it into his belt, and then sat down and wept. As he cried, the castle bustled around him, carrying out its daily duties. After some time, Rama recovered. He stopped crying, and he stood up, straight and tall, determined to face the world, regardless of how unprepared he was. He examined his sword one last time. Although the history of his family had been destroyed, his story remained intact on the blade.

Rama accepted his fate and prepared to serve his 14 years in exile with dignity. As he left, he vowed to never display such wrath and bitterness again for both his own sake and the world’s. 

Author's Note:

I retold the story of Rama's Banishment in which Rama reacts in a manner unbecoming of a divine being. I thought that it would be interesting to see him reacting in a terrible manner but still able to come to terms with his exile. I didn't focus on the conspiracy itself because I generally find conspiracies uninteresting. I also didn't include Lakshmana or Sita as I didn't care for their characters. I added the part of the sword being etched because I thought that it was cool. I should add that if the story flows oddly, its because it was a modification of the story that I wanted to tell. The story that I initially wanted to tell, but it didn't quite fit with the requirements. Initially, there was another main character, a foreigner who was travelling throughout the land, and the main character was a 1300s Indian prince who held Rama as his greatest hero, and put himself back together at the end by remembering what made Rama so heroic. I finished that story before I realized that it didn't really meet the story requirements. Oops.

Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition by Various Authors