Priest telling King the reason for his misery
One day the king of Ayodhya, Dasharatha went hunting with is sons in a nearby forest. It was time for his sons to learn archery. As the royal family, the sons will have to be trained in numerous aspects to not only protect themselves, but also for the purpose of defeating evil for the common people of the Ayodhya. The king taught few lessons and later they practiced it on the tree. While practicing they heard a weird noise from one direction of the forest.
Rama: "Pita, Did you hear that?"
Dasharatha: "Dear son, what are you talking about?"
Lakshmana: "There is a noise coming from that side of the forest" as he points in that direction
Rama: "It almost sounds like a beast is growling in the water"
Dasharatha: "Do not get hesitant, I will take care of it now"
He then takes out an arrow and lines it up with the bow and shoots in that direction. In few minutes the noise had disappeared. The kids asks him to go see what it was, but as soon as they were about to go look, a server comes to fetch king to return back to the palace. The server specifies, there is a highly praised priest, who came to visit you.
They all return back to the palace, without knowing that king has taken a life of an innocent.
Few Years later:
King Dasharatha has to send his beloved child Rama to forest for fourteen years, which was a wish from his wife. He did not know why she would do such a thing or why was this happening to his life. The king was depressed and could not bear sending Rama, Lakshmana (who decided to join his brother) and Sita (Rama's wife) to the forest for 14 years. He thought this was too cruel and no parents should be faced with such agony. He calls priests, thinking his wife was possessed to ask for such a dreadful thing. Priests performed many rituals, where they find out the real reason for Rama's exile.
Priest: "oh king, your wife is not possessed, but it is Karma that is causing you the suffering. You killed an innocent man, while hunting. The man was getting water for his blind parents and you shot him with your arrow. The boys blind parents waited for his return and they found out from a bird that their only son was killed. The parents were furious with such injustice that they cursed the person who killed their son with a life full of sorrows like their. They cursed you with not being able to see your beloved son for years so you can feel their pain."
King had no idea he created such a big crime and he wept for days. He lived last few days of his life miserably, which lead to his blindness and eventually death.
Author's note:
The story is based of King Dasharatha's hunting scene in the jungle. He kills an innocent man, who is getting water for his blind parents, thinking it was a deer. As king approaches the pond, the innocent man tells him to go get his blind parents and tell them what happened truthfully. As the blind parents find out the story from the king, he is cursed. I changed the story by putting it into a different context, where king did not find out till later that he was cursed for his deed. I wanted to emphasize on the meaning of karma and how it lead to Rama's exile and therefore, king's sorrows.
Bibliography: PDE Ramayana, Dasharatha's karma Link
Hey Urvi! I liked your idea to make Karma the deliverer of punishment rather than a curse. It seems more eloquent and makes a great lesson for those unfamiliar with Karmic law. I wondered if you intended to say something further about the Karmic resolve of the King. Did the King, in suffering Karma from his current life, get reborn into a higher class? What did his Karmic suffering in the life mean for his next? After all, unintentional killing of a man, while reckless, does not seem to prompt blindness, depression, loss, and death in such a manner. So clearly the king was also clearing his older Karma as well as Karma from killing the innocent, Correct? Lastly, did you know that instead of writing "Link" you can highlight any text you want to prescribe the link for? That way "Dasharatha's Karma" can be the actual link. It appears more concise and professional.
ReplyDeleteGreat Story! Looking forward to more from you!
Urvi,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this story for the first time, I actually understood what Karma really means in India; it is a little different from the 'Karma' that we use in everyday language. I love your version of the story because you added dialogue. Conversation makes the story easier to follow and more relatable, so I suggest that you always add some between characters in each of your stories. Combining the Hunting Accident story with the Exile of Rama also made this concept of Karma more clear. Also, I LOVE the design of your blog! The background is beautiful and really matches the theme of Indian Epics.