Ramayana: A Summary

1. Dasharatha, King of Aydohya, has three wives and four sons. Rama is the eldest. His mother is Kaushalya. Bharata is the son of his second and favorite wife, Queen Kaikeyi. The other two are twins, Lakshman and Shatrughna. Rama and Bharata are blue, perhaps indicating they were dark skinned or originally south Indian deities.

2) A sage takes the boys out to train them in archery. Rama has hit an apple hanging from a string.

3) In a neighboring city the ruler's daughter is named Sita. When it was time for Sita to choose her bridegroom, at a ceremony called a swayamvara, the princes were asked to string a giant bow. No one else can even lift the bow, but as Rama bends it, he not only strings it but breaks it in two. Sita indicates she has chosen Rama as her husband by putting a garland around his neck. The disappointed suitors watch.

4) King Dasharatha, Rama's father, decides it is time to give his throne to his eldest son Rama and retire to the forest to seek moksha. Everyone seems pleased. This plan fulfills the rules of dharma because an eldest son should rule and, if a son can take over one's responsibilities, one's last years may be spent in a search for moksha. In addition, everyone loves Rama. However Rama's step-mother, the king's second wife, is not pleased. She wants her son, Bharata, to rule. Because of an oath Dasharatha had made to her years before, she gets the king to agree to banish Rama for fourteen years and to crown Bharata, even though the king, on bended knee, begs her not to demand such things. Broken-hearted, the devastated king cannot face Rama with the news and Kaikeyi must tell him.

5) Rama, always obedient, is as content to go into banishment in the forest as to be crowned king. Sita convinces Rama that she belongs at his side and his brother Lakshman also begs to accompany them. Rama, Sita and Lakshman set out for the forest.

Bharata, whose mother's evil plot has won him the throne, is very upset when he finds out what has happened. Not for a moment does he consider breaking the rules of dharma and becoming king in Rama's place. He goes to Rama's forest retreat and begs Rama to return and rule, but Rama refuses. "We must obey father," Rama says. Bharata then takes Rama's sandals saying, "I will put these on the throne, and every day I shall place the fruits of my work at the feet on my Lord." Embracing Rama, he takes the sandals and returns to Aydohya.

6) Years pass and Rama, Sita and Lakshman are very happy in the forest. Rama and Lakshman destroy the rakshasas (evil creatures) who disturb the sages in their meditations. One day a rakshasa princess tries to seduce Rama, and Lakshmana wounds her and drives her away. She returns to her brother Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka (Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon), and tells her brother (who has a weakness for beautiful women) about lovely Sita.

Ravana devises a plan to abduct Sita. He sends a magical golden deer which Sita desires. Rama and Lakshman go off to hunt the deer, first drawing a protective circle around Sita and warning her she will be safe as long as she does not step outside the circle. As they go off, Ravana (who can change his shape) appears as a holy man begging alms. The moment Sita steps outside the circle to give him food, Ravana grabs her and carries her off the his kingdom in Lanka.

7) Rama is broken-hearted when he returns to the empty hut and cannot find Sita. A band of monkeys offer to help him find Sita. 
Ravana has carried Sita to his palace in Lanka, but he cannot force her to be his wife so he puts her in a grove and alternately sweet-talks her and threatens her in an attempt to get her to agree to marry him. Sita will not even look at him but thinks only of her beloved Rama. Hanuman, the general of the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind, and Hanuman flies to Lanka and, finding Sita in the grove, comforts her and tells her Rama will soon come and save her.

8) Ravana's men capture Hanuman, and Ravana orders them to wrap Hanuman's tail in cloth and to set it on fire. With his tail burning, Hanuman hops from house-top to house-top, setting Lanka afire. He then flies back to Rama to tell him where Sita is.

9) Rama, Lakshman and the monkey army build a causeway from the tip of India to Lanka and cross over to Lanka. A might battle ensues. Rama kills several of Ravana's brothers and then
Rama confronts ten-headed Ravana. (Ravana is known for his wisdom as well as for his weakness for women which may explain why he is pictured as very brainy.) Rama finally kills Ravana.

10). Rama frees Sita. After Sita proves here purity, they return to Ayodhya and Rama becomes king. His rule, Ram-rajya, is an ideal time when everyone does his or her dharma and "fathers never have to light the funeral pyres for their sons."

Shakuntala by Kalidasa (Act IV) (excerpts)

Sharngarava (listening to the song of koïl-birds).

Father,

The trees are answering your prayer

In cooing cuckoo-song,

Bidding Shakuntala farewell,

Their sister for so long.

Invisible beings.

May lily-dotted lakes delight your eye;

May shade-trees bid the heat of noonday cease;

May soft winds blow the lotus-pollen nigh;

May all your path be pleasantness and peace.

(All listen in astonishment.)

Gautami.

My child, the fairies of the pious grove bid you farewell. For they love the household. Pay reverence to the holy ones.

Shakuntala (does so. Aside to Priyamvada).

Priyamvada, I long to see my husband, and yet my feet will hardly move. It is hard, hard to leave the hermitage.

Priyamvada.

You are not the only one to feel sad at this farewell. See how the whole grove feels at parting from you.

The grass drops from the feeding doe;

The peahen stops her dance;

Pale, trembling leaves are falling slow,

The tears of clinging plants.

Shakuntala(recalling something).

Father, I must say good-bye to the spring-creeper, my sister among the vines.

Kanva.

I know your love for her. See! Here she is at your right hand.

Shakuntala (approaches the vine and embraces it).

Vine sister, embrace me too with your arms, these branches. I shall be far away from you after to-day. Father, you must care for her as you did for me.

Kanva.

My child, you found the lover who

Had long been sought by me;

No longer need I watch for you;

I’ll give the vine a lover true,

This handsome mango-tree.

And now start on your journey.

Shakuntala (going to the two friends).

Dear girls, I leave her in your care too.

The two friends.

But who will care for poor us? (They shed tears.)

Kanva.

Anusuya! Priyamvada! Do not weep. It is you who should cheer Shakuntala. (All walk about.)

Shakuntala.

Father, there is the pregnant doe, wandering about near the cottage. When she becomes a happy mother, you must send someone to bring me the good news. Do not forget.

Kanva.

I shall not forget, my child.

Shakuntala (stumbling).

Oh, oh! Who is it that keeps pulling at my dress, as if to hinder me? (She turns round to see.)

Kanva.

It is the fawn whose lip, when torn

By kusha-grass, you soothed with oil;

The fawn who gladly nibbled corn

Held in your hand; with loving toil

You have adopted him, and he

Would never leave you willingly.

Shakuntala.

My dear, why should you follow me when I am going away from home? Your mother died when you were born and I brought you up. Now I am leaving you, and Father Kanva will take care of you. Go back, dear! Go back! (She walks away, weeping.)

Kanva.

Do not weep, my child. Be brave. Look at the path before you.

Be brave, and check the rising tears

That dim your lovely eyes;

Your feet are stumbling on the path

That so uneven lies.

Sharngarava.

Holy Father, the Scripture declares that one should accompany a departing loved one only to the first water. Pray give us your commands on the bank of this pond, and then return.

Kanva.

Then let us rest in the shade of this fig-tree. (All do so.) What commands would it be fitting for me to lay on King Dushyanta? (He reflects.)

Anusuya.

My dear, there is not a living thing in the whole hermitage that is not grieving to-day at saying good-bye to you. Look!

The sheldrake does not heed his mate

Who calls behind the lotus-leaf;

He drops the lily from his bill

And turns on you a glance of grief.

Kanva.

Son Sharngarava, when you present Shakuntala to the king, give him this message from me.

Remembering my religious worth,

Your own high race, the love poured forth

By her, forgetful of her friends,

Pay her what honour custom lends

To all your wives. And what fate gives

Beyond, will please her relatives.

Sharngarava.

I will not forget your message, Father.

Kanva (turning to Shakuntala).

My child, I must now give you my counsel. Though I live in the forest, I have some knowledge of the world.

Sharngarava.

True wisdom, Father, gives insight into everything.

Kanva.

My child, when you have entered your husband’s home,

Obey your elders; and be very kind

To rivals; never be perversely blind

And angry with your husband, even though he

Should prove less faithful than a man might be;

Be as courteous to servants as you may,

Not puffed with pride in this your happy day:

Thus does a maiden grow into a wife;

But self-willed women are the curse of life.

But what does Gautami say?

Gautami.

This is advice sufficient for a bride. (To Shakuntala.) You will not forget, my child.

Kanva.

Come, my daughter, embrace me and your friends.

Shakuntala.

Oh, Father! Must my friends turn back too?

Kanva.

My daughter, they too must someday be given in marriage. Therefore they may not go to court. Gautami will go with you.

Shakuntala (throwing her arms about her father).

I am torn from my father’s breast like a vine stripped from a sandal-tree on the Malabar hills. How can I live in another soil? (She weeps.)

Kanva.

My daughter, why distress yourself so?

A noble husband’s honourable wife,

You are to spend a busy, useful life

In the world’s eye; and soon, as eastern skies

Bring forth the sun, from you there shall arise

A child, a blessing and a comfort strong—

You will not miss me, dearest daughter, long.

Shakuntala (falling at his feet).

Farewell, Father.

Kanva.

My daughter, may all that come to you which I desire for you.

Shakuntala (going to her two friends).

Come, girls! Embrace me, both of you together.

The two friends (do so).

Dear, if the good king should perhaps be slow to recognise you, show him the ring with his own name engraved on it.

Shakuntala.

Your doubts make my heart beat faster.

The two friends.

    Do not be afraid, dear. Love is timid.

Sharngarava (looking about).

            Father, the sun is in midheaven. She must hasten.

Shakuntala (embracing Kanva once more).

            Father, when shall I see the pious grove again?

Kanva.

            My daughter, When you have shared for many years

            The king’s thoughts with the earth,

            When to a son who knows no fears

            You shall have given birth,

            When, trusted to the son you love,

            Your royal labours cease,

            Come with your husband to the grove

            And end your days in peace.

Gautami.

               My child, the hour of your departure is slipping by. Bid your father turn back. No, she would never do that. Pray turn back, sir.

Kanva.

            Child, you interrupt my duties in the pious grove.

Shakuntala.

            Yes, Father. You will be busy in the grove. You will not miss me. But oh! I miss you.

Kanva.

            How can you think me so indifferent? (He sighs.)

            My lonely sorrow will not go,

            For seeds you scattered here

            Before the cottage door, will grow;

            And I shall see them, dear.

               Go. And peace go with you. (Exit Shakuntala, with Gautami, Sharngarava, and Sharadvata.)

The two friends(gazing long after her. Mournfully).

            Oh, oh! Shakuntala is lost among the trees.

Kanva.

               Anusuya! Priyamvada! Your companion is gone. Choke down your grief and follow me. (They start to go back.)

The two friends.

            Father, the grove seems empty without Shakuntala.

Kanva.

            So love interprets. (He walks about, sunk in thought.) Ah! I have sent Shakuntala away, and now I am myself again. For

            A girl is held in trust, another’s treasure;

            To arms of love my child to-day is given;

            And now I feel a calm and sacred pleasure;

            I have restored the pledge that came from heaven.

(all exit)

About Kalidasa

The Story of the Mahābhārata

         The innermost narrative kernel of the Mahābhārata tells the story of two sets of paternal first cousins—the five sons of the deceased king Pāṇḍu [pronounced PAAN-doo] (the five Pāṇḍavas [said as PAAN-da-va-s]) and the one hundred sons of blind King Dhṛtarāṣṭra [Dhri-ta-RAASH-tra] (the 100 hundred Dhārtarāṣṭras [Dhaar-ta-RAASH-tras])—who became bitter rivals, and opposed each other in war for possession of the ancestral Bharata [BHAR-a-ta] kingdom with its capital in the "City of the Elephant," Hāstinapura [HAAS-ti-na-pu-ra], on the Gaṅgā river in north central India. What is dramatically interesting within this simple opposition is the large number of individual agendas the many characters pursue, and the numerous personal conflicts, ethical puzzles, subplots, and plot twists that give the story a strikingly powerful development.

        The five sons of Pāṇḍu were actually fathered by five Gods (sex was mortally dangerous for Pāṇḍu, because of a curse) and these heroes were assisted throughout the story by various Gods, seers, and brahmins, including the seer Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa [VYAA-sa] (who later became the author of the epic poem telling the whole of this story), who was also their actual grandfather (he had engendered Pāṇḍu and the blind Dhṛtarāṣṭra upon their nominal father's widows in order to preserve the lineage). The one hundred Dhārtarāṣṭras, on the other hand, had a grotesque, demonic birth, and are said more than once in the text to be human incarnations of the demons who are the perpetual enemies of the Gods. The most dramatic figure of the entire Mahābhārata, however, is Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva of the tribe of Andhaka Vṛṣṇis, located in the city of Dvārakā in the far west, near the ocean. His name is, thus Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva [Vaa-su-DAY-va]. But he also a human instantiation of the supreme God Vāsudeva-Nārāyaṇa-Viṣṇu descended to earth in human form to rescue Law, Good Deeds, Right, Virtue and Justice (all of these words refer to different facets of "dharma," the “firm-holding” between the ethical quality of an action and the quality of its future fruits for the doer). Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva was also a cousin to both Bhārata phratries, but he was a friend and advisor to the Pāṇḍavas, became the brother-in-law of Arjuna [AR-ju-na] Pāṇḍava, and served as Arjuna's mentor and charioteer in the great war. Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva is portrayed several times as eager to see the purgative war occur, and in many ways the Pāṇḍavas were his human instruments for fulfilling that end.

          The Dhārtarāṣṭra party behaved viciously and brutally toward the Pāṇḍavas in many ways, from the time of their early youth onward. Their malice displayed itself most dramatically when they took advantage of the eldest Pāṇḍava, Yudhiṣṭhira [Yu-DHISH-thir-a] (who had by now become the universal ruler of the land) in a game of dice: The Dhārtarāṣṭras 'won' all his brothers, himself, and even the Pāṇḍavas' common wife Draupadī [DRAO-pa-dee] (who was an incarnation of the richness and productivity of the Goddess "Earthly-and-Royal Splendor," Śrī [Shree]); they humiliated all the Pāṇḍavas and physically abused Draupadī; they drove the Pāṇḍava party into the wilderness for twelve years, and the twelve years had to be followed by the Pāṇḍavas' living somewhere in society, in disguise, without being discovered, for one more year.

          The Pāṇḍavas fulfilled their part of that bargain, but the villainous leader of the Dhārtarāṣṭra party, Duryodhana [Dur-YODH-ana], was unwilling to restore the Pāṇḍavas to their half of the kingdom when the thirteen years had expired. Both sides then called upon their many allies and two large armies arrayed themselves on 'Kuru's Field' (Kuru was one of the eponymous ancestors of the clan), eleven divisions in the army of Duryodhana against seven divisions for Yudhiṣṭhira. Much of the action in the Mahābhārata is accompanied by discussion and debate among various interested parties, and the most famous sermon of all time, Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva's ethical lecture accompanied by a demonstration of his divinity to his charge Arjuna (the justly famous Bhagavad Gītā [BHU-gu-vud GEE-taa]) occurred in the Mahābhārata just prior to the commencement of the hostilities of the war. Several of the important ethical and theological themes of the Mahābhārata are tied together in this sermon, and this "Song of the Blessed One" has exerted much the same sort of powerful and far-reaching influence in Indian Civilization that the New Testament has in Christendom.

             The Pāṇḍavas won the eighteen day battle, but it was a victory that deeply troubled all except those who were able to understand things on the divine level (chiefly Kṛṣṇa, Vyāsa, and Bhīṣma [BHEESH-ma], the Bharata patriarch who was emblematic of the virtues of the era now passing away). The Pāṇḍavas' five sons by Draupadī, as well as Bhīmasena [BHEE-ma-SAY-na] Pāṇḍava's and Arjuna Pāṇḍava's two sons by two other mothers (respectively, the young warriors Ghaṭotkaca [Ghat-OT-ka-cha] and Abhimanyu [Uh-bhi-MUN-you ("mun" rhymes with "nun")]), were all tragic victims in the war. Worse perhaps, the Pāṇḍava victory was won by the Pāṇḍavas slaying, in succession, four men who were quasi-fathers to them: Bhīṣma, their teacher Droṇa [DROE-na], Karṇa [KAR-na] (who was, though none of the Pāṇḍavas knew it, the first born, pre-marital, son of their mother), and their maternal uncle Śalya (all four of these men were, in succession, 'supreme commander' of Duryodhana's army during the war). Equally troubling was the fact that the killing of the first three of these 'fathers,' and of some other enemy warriors as well, was accomplished only through 'crooked stratagems' (jihmopāyas), most of which were suggested by Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva as absolutely required by the circumstances.

          The ethical gaps were not resolved to anyone's satisfaction on the surface of the narrative and the aftermath of the war was dominated by a sense of horror and malaise. Yudhiṣṭhira alone was terribly troubled, but his sense of the war's wrongfulness persisted to the end of the text, in spite of the fact that everyone else, from his wife to Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva, told him the war was right and good; in spite of the fact that the dying patriarch Bhīṣma lectured him at length on all aspects of the Good Law (the Duties and Responsibilities of Kings, which have rightful violence at their center; the ambiguities of Righteousness in abnormal circumstances; and the absolute perspective of a beatitude that ultimately transcends the oppositions of good versus bad, right versus wrong, pleasant versus unpleasant, etc.); in spite of the fact that he performed a grand Horse Sacrifice as expiation for the putative wrong of the war. These debates and instructions and the account of this Horse Sacrifice are told at some length after the massive and grotesque narrative of the battle; they form a deliberate tale of pacification (praśamana, śānti) that aims to neutralize the inevitable miasma of the war.

          In the years that follow the war Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his queen Gāndhārī [Gaan-DHAAR-ee], and Kuntī [Koon-tee], the mother of the Pāṇḍavas, lived a life of asceticism in a forest retreat and died with yogic calm in a forest fire. Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva and his always unruly clan slaughtered each other in a drunken brawl thirty-six years after the war, and Kṛṣṇa's soul dissolved back into the Supreme God Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa had been born when a part of Nārāyaṇa-Viṣṇu took birth in the womb of Kṛṣṇa's mother). When they learned of this, the Pāṇḍavas believed it time for them to leave this world too and they embarked upon the 'Great Journey,' which involved walking north toward the polar mountain, that is toward the heavenly worlds, until one's body dropped dead. One by one Draupadī and the younger Pāṇḍavas died along the way until Yudhiṣṭhira was left alone with a dog that had followed him all the way. Yudhiṣṭhira made it to the gate of heaven and there refused the order to drive the dog back, at which point the dog was revealed to be an incarnate form of the God Dharma (also known as Yama, the Lord of the Dead, the God who was Yudhiṣṭhira's actual, physical father), who was there to test the quality of Yudhiṣṭhira's virtue before admitting him to heaven. Once in heaven Yudhiṣṭhira faced one final test of his virtue: He saw only the Dhārtarāṣṭras in heaven, and he was told that his brothers were in hell. He insisted on joining his brothers in hell, if that be the case. It was then revealed that they were really in heaven, that this illusion had been one final test for him. So ends the Mahābhārata!