Chapter 83 - Lakshmana’s Speech

Meanwhile in that fight between the titans and the monkeys, Raghava, hearing the formidable tumult, said to Jambavan:—

“O Friend, to judge by the fearful uproar and the clamour of the combatants, Hanuman is performing an exceedingly difficult feat at this moment. Go, attended by thine army, O Leader of the Bears, and lend thine aid to that Prince of Monkeys who is engaged in combat!”

“Be it so!” said the King of the Bears, and thereafter, surrounded by his troops, he advanced to the western gate to join Hanuman and that Lord of the Bears beheld Hanuman returning amidst his monkeys who had given up the fight and were lamenting. Beholding the host of bears, resembling a dark and fearful cloud, Hanuman caused them to halt and retrace their steps. Then that illustrious warrior, in company with those troops, speedily returned to seek out Rama and, full of grief, addressed him saying:—

“Whilst we were fighting, under our very eyes, Indrajita, born of Ravana, slew Sita who was weeping, O Destroyer of your Foes and, my mind being afflicted by this spectacle, in despair I have come to inform you of what has taken place!”

Hearing these tidings, Raghava, overcome with sorrow, fell to the earth like a tree whose roots have been severed and, beholding the son of Raghu, who was like a God, lying on the ground, the monkey leaders from all sides rushed towards him as he lay consumed with the violence of his grief, resembling a fire that has suddenly been ignited; and they sprinkled him with water that was fragrant with the scent of blue and white lotuses.

Then Lakshmana, full of anguish, pressed him in his arms and addressed the half-conscious Rama, in words pregnant with reason and penetration, saying:—

“O You who walkest in the path of virtue, O My Noble Brother, though you have mastered your senses yet righteousness

has not been able to preserve you from misfortune! I see the form of that which is animate and inanimate but not the form of dharma, hence in mine opinion, it does not exist! Inanimate objects may be seen and also those which are animate but the spiritual law is not manifest, else the virtuous such as you would not suffer adversity! If unrighteousness brought evil in its train, then Ravana would now be in hell and you, who art virtuous, wouldst not be afflicted by ill-fortune. Meanwhile calamity spares the titan in order to strike you down, which proves the consequences of righteousness and unrighteousness to be reversed! If virtue produced good results and unrighteousness evil ones, then those (like Ravana), who have forsaken virtue, would suffer evil consequences. Those who never take pleasure in ill-doing should not be robbed of felicity since their every delight is in doing good; those who follow righteousness should pluck the fruits thereof. Since prosperity attends on those in whom unrighteousness abides and those, who make virtue their way of life, are afflicted, these words (vice and virtue) have no meaning! O Raghava, if the evil-doer perished through his own unrighteousness, unrighteousness itself would perish through its own evil and, it being destroyed, how could it destroy? If it be through the decree of destiny that a man is slain or slays another, then it is destiny and not the slayer who is at fault. O You, Slayer of your Foes, since one is unable to discern the law of dharma meting out retribution or behold its form and it is as if it were not, how is it possible to attain the highest by means of dharma? If dharma truly existed, O King, O Most Virtuous of Men, then you wouldst not have suffered this misfortune; it is therefore manifest that this law is meaningless 1 Dharma, being weak and powerless, attaches itself to the strong and, because of its weakness, rubs out any difference between itself and vice, therefore, in mine opinion, one should disregard it. If unrighteousness is merely the result of strength, then abandon it since might is right. But if, as some hold, dharma is loyalty to one’s word, O Scourge of your Foes, then your sire is guilty of adharma in the duplicity and cruelty he meted out to you without reason! If one accepts the existence of righteousness, then Indra, the Bearer of the Thunderbolt, God of a Hundred Sacrifices, was not justified in performing a sacrifice after slaying the Ascetic Vishvarupa. If righteousness gives birth to unrighteousness, it must perish, O Raghava! Men will act accordingly to their whim, O Kakutstha. In mine opinion, O beloved Raghava, dharma has indeed been destroyed; you have severed its roots by abandoning your kingdom! Like streams from the mountains, all success is brought to birth by material prosperity. The man of small intelligence, without resources, sees all his deeds come to nought as trickles of water drying up in the hot season. Renouncing wealth when one is accustomed to the advantages in which one is reared, is an error of judgment and is setting out on the wrong path. He who has wealth has friends and kinsfolk; he who has wealth is verily a man of importance; he who has wealth is a wise man. The wealthy man is brave, the wealthy man is wise, the wealthy man is powerful, above all the wealthy man is a man of worth! O Hero, I have pointed out the disadvantages that result from giving up one’s good fortune, I see no reason for your determination to abandon the crown.

“He who possesses a fortune finds virtue, pleasure and prosperity to be at his disposal; the poor man who seeks wealth, cannot attain it and merely dreams of it. Wealth is the creator of joy, pleasure, pride, anger, and inner and outer control; all these come from wealth, O Foremost of Men 1 Prosperity eludes virtuous men and those who pursue the path of duty in this world, nor can it be discerned any more than the stars in a stormy sky! Whilst, in accordance with your sire’s command, you didst live in exile, O Hero, a titan bore away your consort who is dearer to you than life itself.

“O Hero, by my valour I shall be able to dissipate this great grief that Indrajita has caused you to-day, O Raghava, arise therefore, rise up, O Lion among Men, O Long-armed Warrior, who art fixed in your vows! Dost you not know that you are the Self, the Highest Self?

“Here am I, O Irreproachable Hero, at your command! The tidings of the death of the daughter of Janaka enrages me! With my shafts I shall overwhelm Lanka, its chariots, horses, titans and its king.”