By Kambar (Kavichakravarthy Kamban)
Translated in English by P. R Ramachander
Kamba Ramayanam-Ayodhya Kandam 1 (Padalam 3)
3. Kaikeyi choozhvinai Padalam
The chapter on conspiracy of Kaikeyi
(Kaikeyi acts as if she is upset and sad and demands from the king the two boons he had promised her earlier. He agrees. Then she requests him to crown Bharata and send Rama to the forest for fourteen years. Dasaratha is shattered .He begs Kaikeyi in various ways but at the end gives her the boon. The sun rises next morning. Sumanthra as per request of sage Vasishta comes to meet Dasaratha but Kaikeyi asks him to bring Rama. When Rama comes Kaikeyi tells that Bharata should rule and he should go to the forest. He happily agres and goes back. Mostly Kamba Ramayana agrees with Valmiki Ramayana in describing incidents of this chapter.)
1491. After Kooni left ,Kaikeyi got from the bed of flowers ,Pulled the flower garland from her cloud like long hair,Like pulling out the moon covered by the huge cloud of monsoon,And threw it making the crowd of honey bees scattered.
1492. Like completely uprooting her fame which was growing like a flag post,She pulled out and threw away her shining waist belt ,She removed the anklets with bell from her legs also,Like one who tries clean the dirt from the moon , she ,Also rubbed off the thilaka from her lustrous forehead near her falling hair.
1493. Also she removed all her faultless ornaments and dashed them separately ,Spread her long hair where musk ghee has been applied on the floor and,Shedding tears and made the kajal from her blue flower like eyes shed,And rolled on the bare floor like a branch where all flowers have been removed.
1494. The daughter of king Kekaya was lying exhausted like a deer which had fallen down,Like a normally dancing peacock stopping the dance and sleeping ,And like the elder sister of Goddess Laksmi, who has arrived there,Thinking that The goddess Lakshmi sitting in a lotus flower would go away from Ayodhya
1495. ,Dasaratha who had long hands which held the wheel of rule,Who was like a lion , after the night crossed mid night ,Accompanied by kings who were saying “long live”,Reached the palace of Kaikeyi who had voice which even yaazh was scared.
1496-1497. With the kings accompanying him stopping at the gate of private apartments,Along with maids who would come running and obey all his orders,The king of kings reached Kaikeyi who had very soft shoulders, who has got up from her bed,And who had broad eyes which were sharper than spears,And when he saw her carefully he thought, What great sorrow has come,And hugged her who was like a female deer and with his long hands,Which were like the trunk of an elephant started lifting her.
1498. That Kaikeyi who was like a soul to the king who wore scented garlands ,Did no show any change and removed the long hands of the king,Again fell on the ground like the fall of a shining flag,And without telling any thing started breathing deeply.
1499. That king who was wearing a garlands seeing her action and asked,“What happened? Any one in these seven worlds who dared,To insult you would meet their destruction by being killed by me.After you tell all that has happened , you see my action , tell without delay.”
1500. That Kaikeyi who heard the words of the king who was wearing a garland,Around which the bees hummed , With tears from her long eyes falling on her chest, told,“If the grace of your equals that of my eye ,Give me back what you have given to me long back with great love .”
1501. Without understanding the mind of Kaikeyi from whose hair honey dropped,Dasaratha laughed like the lightning which had very great light and told,“I would do whatever your mind wants without leaving any shortcoming,And I am taking an oath on the very charitable Rama who is your son.”
1502. When Dasaratha who was having great qualities made that promise ,She who did not have any doubt about success told , “oh king,If you want to remove the great sorrow that I have , grant me,Those two boons that you offered to me with devas as witness.”
1503. Dasaratha who did not think and understand the words of ,Kaikeyi , who had a mind to cheat him told her ,“You need not have become so sad and miserable ,For getting those boons from me, I would give them now itself , So that heaviness of mind leaves you now itself.”
1504. She who was more cruel than all that is termed as cruel said,“Using one boon that you gave me , my son Bharata should rule this kingdom,And using the other the husband of Sita should go to the forest,”And stood there without any sorrow to her mind.
1505. When that poison left the toungue of Kaikeyi who was as cruel as the snake,Shivering greatly not able to hold that poison , which caused that great sorrow,And his body burning and attaining tiredness , Dasaratha fell on the floor,Like an elephant whose great speed was destroyed by a serpent.
1506. Who can describe the sorrow of Dasaratha who fell on the floor,And rolled on it and attained very great sorrow?With the pain increasing and mind burning like the fire,Raised by the blacksmith using his bellows , he let out hot breaths.
1507. His toungue became dry , the soul started leaving his body,The mind faded , The eyes let out lots and lots of blood,And due to increased worries the five sense organs sufferedAnd were wondering what can be done by them.
1508. Dasaratha who was suffering great sorrow with soul shivering,Sat for some time on the floor , stood up and again fall down,And like a picture his breath stopped and wanted ,To catch hold of that sinner and dash her.
1509. That king who was like an elephant in whose terrible wound,A spear which was thrown by a powerful hand entered ,Was ashamed about the likely bad fame if he kills a lady,He started wandering here and there leaving out deep breaths ,With the great pain that was inside his mind,And then he will stare at Kaikeyi and become again depressed.
1510. When that king who was like an elephant in rut which got tied ,On a big staff was with pain in the mind falling down and getting up,Devas got scared and started shivering for it looked to them,That the time of final deluge has come but the mind of Kaikeyi,Who had an arrow like eyes was stable and was not wavering,.
1511. She was not scared by seeing the sorrow of her husband ,Her mind did not get mercy and neither was she ashamed,And we are feeling greatly ashamed to describe her state .Wise people of yore always thought that deception was a lady,And concluded that women were ones without line of attachment.
1512. That Dasaratha who was standing like that and who was,Having a spear on which ghee was applied , after seeing Kaikeyi,Asked her “Have you ever been surprised? Or has some ,Deceiver spoiled your mind, Tell me the truth with oath on me.”
1513. ”Oh king who has horses kept under control , I have,Never been surprised , no deceiver has come and told anything to me,If you grant the boons that you had promised earlier , I will receive them,But if you do not grant them , I would die leaving the crime on you.”
1514. That king who did not have any soul except his son ,Even before the ignorant one could complete , her words ,Of great anger , got confused like one who was wounded,By a great spear on the burn wound which was already there,And fell senseless on the floor with wounded mind and with wonder.”
1515. That Dasaratha who had a sword by which he had achieved victory,Over heavens , earth and land of serpents seeing Kaikeyi told ,“Oh cruel lady, “ and then he would take a big breath and again say,“Alas, this Dharma is cruel” and while saying “let the truth die ,He would totter and then again fall on the ground ,
1516. That Dasaratha who has won over great heroes with his spear,Became greatly angry thinking “Using my very sharp sword,I should kill all the ladies on earth and after that,I would also join the beings who have reached the lower worlds.”
1517. That king Dasaratha who was well known in all the worlds,For his dedication to truth , beat one palm with another palm,Bit his lips , would let out hot breath saying to himself ,“Telling truth would harm me “ and then like the fire ,In which ghee is poured , he became sad with a broken mind.
1518. The king Dasaratha who had crowded feet which was being saluted by great kings,Who had an elephant army that breaks the staff that they were tied one after another, Like a good king who wanted to remove the mistakes that he has committed while ruling,Thinking that patience is better if it leads to good , Fell at the feet of Queen Kaikeyi.
1519. He said, “your son would not accept this kingship and even if he accepts,This world would not like it and you would not attain your wish for being praised, By all this people of the universe at any time and what is the use ,Of getting a bad name and be berated by all the world.”
1520. ”Even devas will not accept your decision , the people of earth will all die,But what is the need to think about the reaction of others? With whom shall,You rule this world? Rama has accepted the proposal because of my words.Would he not as per custom give this kingship to your son also later?”
1521. ”Oh lady , who is the daughter of the charitable king of Kekaya ,Even if you wanted my eyes , I am bound to give it to you and even if,You want my soul which is in my body , it is already under your control.If you want that boon, please receive only the kingdom and forget the other” , he said.
1522. ”I have told you by my mouth that I have given you the boons,Now I will not change it .Please do not tell such words which would make me sad,And which would make suffer. Like a mother giving any thing if some body begs her,, Even a ghost with fire like eyes also would give and would it be a mistake if you grant this?”
1523. Like this that victorious king several times begged her ,But the mind of her who was matchless in cruelty , did not melt and she said,“Oh king , you have given these boons earlier and if you do not act on them due to anger ,What will happen? Who would be there in this world to protect truth?”
1524. That king who never praised a “lie” but always praised the “truth”,Hearing those words was greatly hurt , became further weakened ,And with more patience than earlier and with shame thinking ,“whether poisonous fire has come in the form of that lady”,Stood some time breathless started talking further begging her.
1525. ”Your son would rule and you also would sweetly rule ,All the earth would be under your control . You would rule. I have granted this.I would not change my words , Let my eye like son not go away from here “, he said.
1526. He further said, “My truth would uproot and destroy me and I am sad,Thinking about my fate . My toungue has dried talking to you ,If today,My son having lotus like hands would go away from my presence,I would not be alive and so my soul is under your control.”
1528. Kaikeyi who was not bothered about the sweet begging words of Dasaratha ,Whose anger had not diminished, Whose mind was like a dried wood,Who did not have sense of shame and who was not bothered about bad name ,Said to Dasaratha, Oh king who is capable of lifting a huge bow,“Please tell me that your asking me to leave out a boon that you have given me,At an early time as you have a strong mind and not following Dharma.”
1529. When that cruel lady told like this that great king said to her ,“If Rama is not crowned and walks with harsh forest full of stones,My soul would truly go away from me “ and fell down,On the earth like a huge tree struck with thunder.
1530. He fell and got drowned the waters of the ocean of great sorrow ,He further drowned and drowning he could not see the other shore of the ocean,He faded thinking of her who caused great sorrow surrounding him,Who was telling harsh and cruel words and who was breaking his heart with them.
1531-1535. ”the ladies who wear shining bangles would merge with bodyWith the soul of their great husbands and would like to die earlier to him,. They have so far got only this fame and no one has killed her husband ,Oh lady with a cruel heart , are you killing me now.You are not seeing my sorrow and you are not bothered of current behavior,You never think about Dharma . You have killed “mercy” from your mind,You have also killed my great soul by the sharp arrow of your toungue,And you would be killed by people of earth not bothered about the sin of killing women,Good ladies are those who do not move away from greatness and wear ,The ornaments called shyness, innocence and fear and those ladies,Who desire for fame leave out shyness and are not good ladies.For they are masculine and never can be called feminine.I who have attained victory over all the people, who have been,Crowned as kings and all those kings who are classified as great,Due to their strength and wisdom as well as devas in all wars,Would attain the bad fate of facing defeat from a lady of my own home.That Dasaratha who had shoulders like one gold mountain meeting another ,Started thinking in various ways and became sad by telling various things,Would get drowned in ocean of sorrow , would suffer by various types,Of sorrow which are different from each other and would faint,With a doubt whether he was breathing at all and his heart would break.
1536. When Dasaratha who was having a chariot with wheels made of gold ,Became depressed and was rolling on the earth with the dust coating his pretty shoulders,Kaikeyi who did not have mercy in her heart said., “oh king,Who wears golden ornaments , Tell that I got it properly,Otherwise I would take away my life.”
1537. Kaikeyi who was like the spreading raging fire which does not get put out ,And destroys lives, said, “Oh king with a well tied bow , Did not one king,Of your clan sacrifice his own life to protect truth ? Having given the boon,If you are sorrowing at the present time, what use can be there?”
1539. That very strong king thinking that if we do not agree this cruel lady ,Would die said,” I have given, given those boons and let my son rule the forest,I would die and then rule the heaven andyou along with your son,Would keep on swimming in the ocean of bad name not able to get out of it.”
1540. As soon as he completed saying it , with great sorrow entering his mind ,Which was similar to the cutting in to pieces by a sword meant for killing,Fainted , lost consciousness and forgot everything , While Kaikeyi,Who had achieved what she wanted happily started sleeping.
1541. Having for several days lived like one soul and did lot of things together,And after seeing her husband with strong shoulders drown in sorrow,And not bothering about it or becoming merciful , that lady with lustrous teeth,Was seen by the cool lady of the night and becoming shy ,To stand before men , she vanished and the night came to an end.
1542. Those cocks which coo at the last yama of that night , seeing that Dasaratha,Who wears bee hovering flower garlands had fainted due to that cruel Kaikeyi,And also seen him losing his wisdom and also hearing the lamentations that he made, Appeared to beat on their own belly by their pretty legs and crying.
1543. Elephants who were in safe places after completing their sweet sleep ,With great love to Rama , with a shivering mind thinking that Sita with her pretty waist belt,And Rama with a name which cannot be ever forgotten, would go to the forest,Started from there as if announcing to the world that they would also go to forest.
1544. Before the auspicious thread was tied on handsWhich resembled the trunk of an elephant , of Rama ,Who was Lord Vishnu with red eyes similar to lotus flower ,The enclosure (pandal) which was built to give shade to the entire world,And which had pearl hangings which used to spread cold ,Was removed and like that the sky with stars vanished.
1545. To make us all know that the night during which time.All of us are defeated and suffer due to the sugarcane bow of god of love ,And to make us all know that the time to salute Rama who held the Kodanda bow in his hand Has arrived huge drums made lot of sound and due to that sound ,Which resemble thunder coming out of clouds big peacocksStarted dancing and ladies with joy woke up before their husbands.
1546. Due to the slow scented breeze which made lots of flowers open up ,Were sad with their waist belt and cloths of hips loosen up and some maids,Each of whom saw , a deceiving dream that they were making love To Rama ,Were awakened by the breeze which also put a stop to their dreams.
1547. Like the flowers of red lily getting closed at morn , the mouths of good ladies were shut ,Seeing the undesirable act of Kaikeyi who had a cruel mind , which shatters the difficult to get fame,Which brings very bad name which would remain for a long time to come , which brings destruction,To the fame of the very great clan and also destroy their own greatness.
1548. The sharp arrows of god of love which fills mind with passion and,Makes the desire in the mind to burn furiously like wild fire and,The wind which is in the sky due to their cutting their body ,And making their souls tired as well as the mature songs ,Entered the ears of ladies and made them suffer as if snakes have entered the ears.
1549. To the men who had hands like the clouds , that sinner night ,Which came in between the day when Rama with a wheel is to be crowned,Appeared to be very lengthy and they deciding that their eyes and hearts,Are about to see the crowning ceremony ,to see which ,All the beings in the seven worlds were doing great penance ,Are going to lead a grand life that day woke up from their bed.
1550. Those ladies who were feigning sleep by closing their long eyes,Which were like sharp ghee coated spears , thinking about Rama,With a wish for seeing the prettiness of body of Rama which gives great luster ,Got up from the beds made of best harvested great flowers ,Which were surrounded by bees which were humming songs.
1551. Those ladies who were wearing great garlands of flower ,With great strength of mind , who had love tiff with their husbands ,With a fear that the gold chain will hurt their lovers when they hug them,Wore flower garlands and at the time since the siren ending the night sounded,The men who were sad because of the love tiff did not get a chance to get happiness.
1552. In all places the peacock hangings made pleasant sound , the bees hummed,The movement of flower garlands made sound , the drums blared ,The moving chariots produced sound , the ornaments of ladies ,Whose pearl studded ropes rub with their waist produced sound ,The birds cooed , Sting instruments made sound and the horses,Which run faster than mind neighed like thunder.
1553. That Dasaratha who merged all the fourteen worlds with his soul, Being one wedded to truth , due to the great affection towards his eldest son,Became one with all the five senses have become subdued and theLuster of the lights in the streets was dimming like his lustrous soul,From his greatly shivering body which had divinity.
1554. Various types of pipes spread honey like musical sounds,The sweet music where words were important filled the sky,Great sound was produced by musical instruments called Pambai,And with various anklets worn by ladies creating sound ,,Their conch bangles raised suitable sounds ,The horns made sound everywhere and the chanting of Sama veda was also being heard.
1555. With the smoke like darkness which filled everywhere jumping and running away,And like the lamps which were inside the houses slowly fading away , due to the,Enmical act of Kaikeyi the great soul of Dasaratha was also fading away ,The sun rose with blood red colour in the east looking like he was very angry.
1556. The lotus flowers , which looked like the faces of ladies bloomed in groups,AS if they wanted to see with desire , the great beauty of Rama , who was the basis,Of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma , who has become everything in the world,Who broke the bow held by Shiva the God of Gods and was wearing the huge crown.
1557. When things were like this those living in the city rose ,Like the rising of all the seven oceans at the same time and,Thinking that it was the day of coronation of Rama,With great desire did lot of activities and even though,People like me they are all very much beyond thought ,I would try to tell about them to the best of my ability.
1558. The young ladies , who steal the minds of men,Who were proud like the elephants , would apply the red cotton juice,Would search the best of conch bangles which are white like milk,Would say kajal and apply it on their sword and spear like eyes,Which would look like poison and they would decorate their hair with fresh flowers.
1559. When the tide of the joy was flowing out , among those ladies who had,Spot less faces like a fully opened lotus flower who had drunk toddy,And had joyful eyes which were like the kendai fishesThe saffron paste that they had applied in their chest was not getting rubbed off,And because of this all those men who had hefty shoulders.Became like the brothers of Lord Rama.
1560. Those old ladies of great virtue who were living in that city became possessed ,With mother like minds of Kausalya and the young ladies in joy matched Sita,That Sita became like Goddess Lakshmi , all the Brahmins became like sage Vasishta,And all the old men became like that of king Dasaratha.
1561. For seeing the coronation of the husband of Sita who had cone like breasts,Huge crowd of kings , impelled by their great desire to come , came ,Like the crowd of devas who had come to eat nectar , making empty,This great world which is surrounded by oceans on all sides.
1562. In the pretty streets of that great city , all places were occupied byCrowds of ladies who had mouth which is red like coral and sweet like honey,Who had thick breasts and who had wide hips and also crowd of men,Who were shouting “go ahead, go ahead” but not moving themselves ,And did not proceed ahead nor were able to go back.
1563. Some of them were saying , “number of kings is more”,Some were saying , “number of Brahmins is more”,Some saying “men were more” , some saying “ladies are more”,Some saying “those who have come are more “,Some saying “the number of people who are yet to come are more”,But it was clear that they only knew what they thought and there were none who knew everything.
1564. With the prettiness of blue lotus , the cruelty of the spear , mixed together ,Applying the poison called the shining Kajal along with a look of the white shining sun,The ladies had big eyes and hip that was bending when they came,And crowded there like a crowd of dancing peacocks.
1565. The asuras of Lanka were the only ones, who had not to come to see that Rama who woreThe scented garland of Thulasi marrying the great bride of the lady called earth,And apart from that those who had not come were the mountains ,Of the seven worlds and those elephants with rut ,Standing on the eight different directions and carrying the earth.
1566. Al l those great kings who were ruling over the earth,Who can be compared to Devendra came like crores of moons,With royal umbrellas made of pearl held high , fanned byWhite cowries which looked like the crowded swan of the skies,Came and as per their order and entered the hall of coronation.
1567. All those great ones who had mastered the four Vedas ,Who due to their great penance were blessing the world with good,Came like they have come to celebrate the entry of their eldest sons,To married life and entered the hall of coronation,To see the great marriage of Rama with the goddess earth.
1568. The devas who had come to see the celebration filled up the sky,Those who lived in the wide earth dressed with oceans filled the eight directions,The auspicious booming sound of conch , the beat of the drums with wide eyes,Filled the ears of those who came to witness the function,And the mountain of gold that was given in charity filled up the seven oceans.
1569. The rays of light starting from the bodies of the kings ,Hid the the luster of lamps and the light coming from,The movement of crowns hid the light of Sun in the sky,The light from the ornaments of ladies who were smiling,With their white teeth resembling the pearls born in a sea,Possibly thinking they can hide the world of devas also,Hid both the eyes of all the devas who were there.
1570. In these circumstances Vasishta of great penance ,Collecting all the auspicious things necessary to the coronation,Of Rama accompanied with experts in Vedas chanting all the four Vedas,Came to the hall of coronation , making his way through the old entrances.
1571. He then filled up the auspicious waters from River ganges to the river Kumari,As well as the waters of the four seas in sacred pots , made arrangements ,Of all the materials that were needed for fire sacrifice , erected the valorous throne,In proper place and also did all that is needed for the coronation.
1572. When the experts in astrology told him that the auspicious time has come,That Vasishta who did penance so that disease of birth cycle is removed,And who stood by it said, “Go and bring the emperor who wears,The jeweled crown with haste”, the loving Sumantra with bent head,Went with great speed and love to carry out that errand.
1573. When he was not able to see Dasaratha in the palace which was touching the sky,He made enquiries and reached the palace of Kaikeyi and informed the ,Servant ladies with the red mouth and when they went and told it to Kaikeyi,That one who was like god of death among ladies said, “Go and bring Rama.”
1574. Sumantra who heard that , with his joy increasing further ,Crossed the streets with palaces of Gold with great speed ,Entered the palace of Rama saluted him who with mountain like shoulders,Was only thinking of him , hid his mouth with hand and started telling.
1575. ”Kings , sages and all those who are on this earth are showering,Love on you like your father Dasaratha and your step mother Kaikeyi,Asked me to bring you to her palace and so come quickly ,To wear that great crown which is made of gold.”
1576. As soon as Rama heard that after saluting Lord Vishnu ,With one thousand heads , accompanied like an ocean,By the crowd of kings singing prayers of God,With devas in the sky blessing him with great joy ,And with ladies making great sound and staring at him,With great desire , Travelled in a chariot decorated by garlands.
1577. Those ladies knowing Rama is going to wear the auspicious crown,Egged by love as well as great joy , joined together ,And approached near him on both his sides ,And they felt that all their sweet souls has joined together ,And saw that their soul travelling in a matchless chariot.
1578. Due to words that make one shiver told by Kaikeyi,Rama would be avoiding the lustrous ceremony of crowning,And would separate himself from the pure divine lady of earth,Rama accompanied by the songs sung by those ladies,And entered the thick forest of the bamboos of thick shoulders ,And which has the fatal spear of their eyes.
1579-1580. Those ladies who were throwing at Rama the scented powders ,Flowers , sandal and gold , who were letting fall their very pretty,Waist belt , their shyness as well as their bangles ,Who were washing with hot water from their eyes their soft breasts ,Which were wounded by the flower darts of god of love ,Who were telling each other “This Rama is not suited to rule the earth”,“How is it that he does not seem to have love towards us?” ,And due to shivering of the mind , they were sorrowing ,And seeing Rama with red eyes and pretty black body,Riding on a chariot wherever their eyes look at ,They asked ,”How many people are there who look like Rama?”
1581. All ladies were making great sound like this and crowded round Rama,And all the sages and elder citizens of Ayodhya and young people .After seeing the very pretty body of Rama , not able to find ,Any limit to the love that they had for him thought ,In their mind and told about it. WE will now start telling about that.
1582. Some said “this world has now greatly succeeded, Some said,“You would live up to the final deluge , Some said, “Oh son ,Please take all our allotted life span”, Some others said,“Let the fruit of penance we did controlling five senses be yours”,And some others said, “ Let You who wear the garland ,Of Thulasi get the fruits of all good deed done in the world.”
1583. Some said “what was the blessed deed was done by lotus flower ,Which resembles his eyes and what was the blessed deed done by,The rain shedding cloud to get his colour.”How can we compensate ,The king who did impossible penances and gave this great one to us?”
1584. “The mercy of Rama is similar to the mercy Narayana with a divine wheel,Who rushed to save the elephant which called him, when attacked by the crocodile,”Some said and some others said, “When we approach the lord , whom even Vedas,Are not able to know properly and see him , tears rush to the eye,Without any other reason except love for him.”
1585. ”on one side there was fullness and great wisdom to the black cloud like Rama,On the other side who has his great character?” some said , Some others said, “Would this very great Lord Rama belong to clan of devas?” and without knowing ,I asked “is he the endless God who is the root cause beyond the calculation of time .”
1586. Some said “Those who dug the ocean , those who brought Ganga to earth,And those who went and helped the Devas and fought and won over the asuras,Were his great ancestors who were blessed with permanent greatness, And we would live Depending on the fame brought by his great shoulders ,Which were decorated by the garland of victory,”
1587. ”Oh son, These are sandal paste , these are faultless gem garlands,Those here are The thilaka as well as ornaments for you to wear ,Please give charity with your hands these row of elephants with rut,The row of victorious horses and wealth made of pure gold.” Said some.
1588. When the valorous Rama was coming in a chariot with speed of lightning,There were none in that crowd whose mind did not melt with extreme love ,Whose body did not become soft and whose mind did not melt ,For they saw in him the matchless child of God coming alone with a spring.
1589. They said, “all those good natured kings who stand in the shade of white royal umbrella,Who had a huge army and who were ruling the earth with great grace,After the birth of Rama would start thinking , that having a son is bad ,And would stand like a picture.perplexed and with a melting mind .”
1590. ”That Rama who was wearing the sacred thread on his chest was like,A wandering streak of lightning and would he pass the gates of our home,With great speed ? To prevent him from doing that along with,Huge mountain like gold fill the big street with limitless gems.”Some who were saying like this started pouring gold and gems on the street.
1591 .Some of them said “He was not brought up by his mother and ,By the great penance that she did the daughter of Kekaya king brought him up.If this is the nature of the happiness of Kaikeyi who is charitable ,We cannot say anything about the great joy that she must be feeling.”
1592. Some said, “If he rules the great sorrow as well as sins ,Would be completely uprooted and now this earth not only,Belongs to Rama but to all of us . This Rama would destroy,The Asuras who are the enemies of Devas and ,What a great penance have the kings done to serve under him?”
1593. When the citizens of the town were talking like this ,The victorious hero Rama travelling in a chariot,On which matchless gems had been tied and ,Which is pulled by the horses travelled through,The row of tall houses with flags and reached ,The palace of Dasaratha who wore fame as ornament.
1594. When Rama reached there did not see cowries were being swung all around andThe ladies who had decorated their hair with flowers were dancing with new joy and great love ,And also did not see Dasaratha wearing a great crown , sitting on the throne with joy.
1595. Rama who appears in the mind of wise people who have learnt , All Vedas and all great books of the world did not enter with sweetness ,In that king’s golden hall where the kings together with the sages ,With great joy were singing the real praise ,But entered in to the palace of his step mother Kaikeyi.
1596. The kings and sages and all others seeing Rama who entered ,The palace of Kaikeyi thought that “Rama has only done proper thing.It is great for him to salute the lotus like feet of his father first,And wear the crown which was earlier worn by all kings ,Starting from Sun God with red rays , which appears above everything.”
1597. When things were going on like this , Kaikeyi seeing Rama searching and coming ,Towards the pure Dasaratha , after getting depressed and then became all right,Thinking ,”My lord will not tell this with his mouth and so I will tell it myself,”,And stood like a god of death , before Rama who was thinking that she is his mother.
1598. Rama who was like a calf which has seen its mother cow which returned in the evening,Saluted by falling on the ground with his forehead touching the earth Kaikeyi who came there,And then slightly closing his coral red mouth which was scented like saffron with his red palm,Using his right hand and folding his cloth using his pretty left hand stood in salutation.
1599. Kaikeyi who had a mind of steel and who was as cruel as God of death who destroys,Said, “Son, There is something that your father wants to tell you, and if you think,It is proper for me to tell you that , I would tell you that .”
1600. ”If my father orders me some thing and if you are agreeable to tell that,I have become blessed and there would be no one born in this world,Who are greater than me. I think the fruit of my penance has already come.Is there any greater fortune than that? You are my father as well as mother,Please order me and I would obey it with all my mind.”
1601. ”With the entire earth surrounded by the sea ruled by Bharata,Carrying on two sides by matted hair , do the greatest penance possible ,Reach the cruel forest which is dusty , take bath in all sacred waters ,And come back here after fourteen long years.”
1602. ”After seeing the beauty of the , face of Rama , who has good characters,Which are beyond description , It is not possible for people like me to describe it.That face was like lotus before and after hearing the words of Kaikeyi,And even after understanding the import of those words , It won over lotus flower.
1603. Rama who was at that time scared of disobeying the orders ,Of his clear minded father had agreed to the great sorrow,The painful job of ruling the earth and like the black bull ,Which was tied to the cart and was being driven by its owner,Was set free by one merciful person , he felt free of those ties.
1604. ” Would I disobey your commands feeling it is not the king’s command,Is not the great fortune of my brother Bharata , my own fortune?Is there a better luck than that ?. I have taken this command on my head,And I would immediately go to the forest which shines ,With sun light like lightning and I am taking leave from you.”
1605. That Rama who had shoulders which were even better than the mountains,After telling this took leave , and after saluting the direction of the feet of Kaikeyi,Making Goddess Lakshmi sitting on lotus flower and mother earth cry ,Left that place and reached the palace of mother Kausalya.
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About Kavichakravarthy Kamban
Historians place him in the 9th century CE, But surely Kamban belongs to the third great wave of Tamizh literature that started with the Sangam period (dated before the Common Era), followed by the widespread impact of Bhakti literature of the Alwars (vaishnavite saints) & Nayanamars (shaivaite saints). Kamban Authored Ramanaya in Tamil…Known as Kamba Ramayanam..
Kambar has been the milestone for the Tamil scholars that none had reached. He was also known as “Kamba Naatazhvar” at his time. Many Tamil authors from the modern world have written the books on the poet Kamban.
FAQs
Kambar or Kavichakravarthy Kamban (1180–1250) was a medieval Tamil poet and the author of the Ramavataram, popularly known as Kambaramayanam, the Tamil version of the epic Ramayana.
Valmiki Ramayana and Kamba Ramayanam are two versions of Ramayana written in the Sanskrit and Tamil languages respectively. … Kamba Ramayanam is originally called as Ramavataram. Although Valmiki Ramayana is the original version of the story of Rama, Kamba Ramayana is believed to be based on the work by Valmiki.
The Kamba Ramayanam, is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki’s Ramayana (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the life of King Rama of Ayodhya.
The book is divided into six chapters, called Kandam in Tamil. The Kandams are further divided into 123 sections called Padalam (படலம்) in Tamil. These 123 sections contain approximately 12,000 verses of the epic.