# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 19 — Rāma attributes the reversal to fate *He cancels the abhiṣeka preparations and asks Lakṣmaṇa to accept Kaikeyī’s change without anger* Portion: Kausalyā’s grief and Lakṣmaṇa’s resistance · Verses: 22 · Ref format: 2.19. ## Sequence - Rāma asks Lakṣmaṇa to stop the abhiṣeka preparations (19.1–3) - he wants Kaikeyī's anxiety ended and Daśaratha spared the anguish of breaking his word (19.4–9) - he therefore intends to leave promptly in bark garments and matted hair, allowing Bharata's ceremony to proceed (19.10–12) - he says Kaikeyī had never previously distinguished between him and Bharata, so her sudden change seems to him the work of fate (19.13–16) - he argues that such forces are known through their effects and cannot simply be fought (19.17–20) - he asks Lakṣmaṇa to accept the reversal without grief and not blame Kaikeyī excessively (19.21–22). ## Verses **2.19.1** atha taṃ vyathayā dīnaṃ saviśeṣam amarṣitam śvasantam iva nāgendraṃ roṣavisphāritekṣaṇam Then to him—wretched with distress, exceedingly indignant, hissing like a lordly serpent, his eyes flung wide with rage— **2.19.2** āsādya rāmaḥ saumitriṃ suhṛdaṃ bhrātaraṃ priyam uvācedaṃ sa dhairyeṇa dhārayan sattvam ātmavān —Rāma, approaching Saumitri, his dear brother and friend, self-possessed, holding his firmness steady with resolve, said this: **2.19.3** saumitre yo 'bhiṣekārthe mama saṃbhārasaṃbhramaḥ abhiṣekanivṛttyarthe so 'stu saṃbhārasaṃbhramaḥ "Saumitri, whatever bustle of preparation there was for the sake of my consecration, let that same bustle of preparation now serve for calling the consecration off. **2.19.4** yasyā madabhiṣekārthaṃ mānasaṃ paritapyate mātā naḥ sā yathā na syāt saviśaṅkā tathā kuru She whose mind is tormented over my consecration—that mother of ours—act so that she may not remain in anxiety. **2.19.5** tasyāḥ śaṅkāmayaṃ duḥkhaṃ muhūrtam api notsahe manasi pratisaṃjātaṃ saumitre 'ham upekṣitum I cannot bear, Saumitri, to disregard even for a moment the sorrow born of anxiety that has arisen in her mind. **2.19.6** na buddhipūrvaṃ nābuddhaṃ smarāmīha kadā cana mātṝṇāṃ vā pitur vāhaṃ kṛtam alpaṃ ca vipriyam I do not recall having ever, deliberately or unwittingly, done here even the least displeasure to my mothers or to my father. **2.19.7** satyaḥ satyābhisaṃdhaś ca nityaṃ satyaparākramaḥ paralokabhayād bhīto nirbhayo 'stu pitā mama Truthful, faithful to his word, ever of truthful valour, and afraid through fear of the world beyond—may my father be free of all fear. **2.19.8** tasyāpi hi bhaved asmin karmaṇy apratisaṃhṛte satyaṃ neti manas tāpas tasya tāpas tapec ca mām For if this undertaking were not called off, there would arise in his mind the torment 'my truth is undone'; and his torment would torment me too. **2.19.9** abhiṣekavidhānaṃ tu tasmāt saṃhṛtya lakṣmaṇa anvag evāham icchāmi vanaṃ gantum itaḥ punaḥ Therefore, Lakṣmaṇa, having called off the arrangement for the consecration, I wish to go straight from here to the forest without delay. **2.19.10** mama pravrājanād adya kṛtakṛtyā nṛpātmajā sutaṃ bharatam avyagram abhiṣecayitā tataḥ Having achieved her aim today by my banishment, the king's consort will then have her son Bharata consecrated without hindrance. **2.19.11** mayi cīrājinadhare jaṭāmaṇḍaladhāriṇi gate 'raṇyaṃ ca kaikeyyā bhaviṣyati manaḥsukham When I, clad in bark and deerskin and wearing a mass of matted locks, have gone to the forest, there will be contentment of mind for Kaikeyī. **2.19.12** buddhiḥ praṇītā yeneyaṃ manaś ca susamāhitam tat tu nārhāmi saṃkleṣṭuṃ pravrajiṣyāmi māciram This mind by which such a resolve has been formed, and which is well composed—that I ought not to trouble; I shall go forth to the forest, and without delay. **2.19.13** kṛtāntas tv eva saumitre draṣṭavyo matpravāsane rājyasya ca vitīrṇasya punar eva nivartane It is fate alone, Saumitri, that must be seen in my banishment and in the taking back of a kingdom that had already been granted. **2.19.14** kaikeyyāḥ pratipattir hi kathaṃ syān mama pīḍane yadi bhāvo na daivo 'yaṃ kṛtāntavihito bhavet For how could Kaikeyī have conceived this design for my affliction, were this disposition not something divine, ordained by fate? **2.19.15** jānāsi hi yathā saumya na mātṛṣu mamāntaram bhūtapūrvaṃ viśeṣo vā tasyā mayi sute 'pi vā For you know, gentle one, that there has never before been any difference in my regard among my mothers, nor on her part any distinction between me and her own son. **2.19.16** so 'bhiṣekanivṛttyarthaiḥ pravāsārthaiś ca durvacaiḥ ugrair vākyair ahaṃ tasyā nānyad daivāt samarthaye For those harsh, cruel words of hers, aimed at stopping the consecration and at my exile, I can account for by nothing other than fate. **2.19.17** kathaṃ prakṛtisaṃpannā rājaputrī tathāguṇā brūyāt sā prākṛteva strī matpīḍāṃ bhartṛsaṃnidhau How else could a princess so endowed by nature and of such virtue speak of my affliction, in her husband's very presence, like some common woman? **2.19.18** yad acintyaṃ tu tad daivaṃ bhūteṣv api na hanyate vyaktaṃ mayi ca tasyāṃ ca patito hi viparyayaḥ That fate which is beyond thought cannot be thwarted even among living beings; plainly a reversal has fallen upon me and upon her. **2.19.19** kaś cid daivena saumitre yoddhum utsahate pumān yasya na grahaṇaṃ kiṃ cit karmaṇo 'nyatra dṛśyate What man, Saumitri, could dare to fight against fate, of whose working no grasp whatever can be seen except in the effect? **2.19.20** sukhaduḥkhe bhayakrodhau lābhālābhau bhavābhavau yasya kiṃ cit tathā bhūtaṃ nanu daivasya karma tat Pleasure and pain, fear and anger, gain and loss, being and non-being—whatever befalls anyone in such a way, surely that is the work of fate. **2.19.21** vyāhate 'py abhiṣeke me paritāpo na vidyate tasmād aparitāpaḥ saṃs tvam apy anuvidhāya mām pratisaṃhāraya kṣipram ābhiṣecanikīṃ kriyām Even though my consecration has been thwarted, no anguish is found in me; therefore, being free of anguish yourself and conforming to me, quickly call off the rite of consecration. **2.19.22** na lakṣmaṇāsmin mama rājyavighne mātā yavīyasy atiśaṅkanīyā daivābhipannā hi vadanty aniṣṭaṃ jānāsi daivaṃ ca tathā prabhāvam In this obstruction of my kingship, Lakṣmaṇa, my younger mother is not to be too greatly suspected; for those seized by fate speak what is unwished-for—and you know, too, the power of fate.