Kaikeyi,the virtuous

Shri Rama navami falls on 28th March. All the samithis and bhajana mandalis are vibrant with katha kalakshepams on 9 day Ramayana series.Some kamban samithis are conducting patti mandapam on various topics on Ramayana.
The story of Ramayana is well known to everyone. If any woman is adamant and bent on doing anything, she used to be addressed as kaikeyi.

Normally Kaikeyi is portrayed as a heartless creature, cruel to the core.But is she as cruel as depicted?This topic had been a hot topic for discussion even during our college days.
In fact Kaikeyi 's affection towards Rama was extra ordinary.She loved Rama as dearly as bharata.
According to 107th Sarga, Ayodhya Kandam of Valmiki Ramayana, Rama tells Bharata ," My dear brother,when our father married your mother,our father has pledged his kingdom ( Kosal0) as KANYA Shulkam to Kekaya king, father of kaikeyi.
( Kanya Shulkam is a legal term, something like vadhu Dakshinai. It is given as a gift by the bridegroom's father to the father of the bride having welfare of the girl and her to be born children in mind.

Even In kamba Ramayanam similar verse finds a place.

வானில் உந்தைசொன் மரபினால் உடைத்
தரணி நின்னதென்று இயைந்த தன்மையால் ,
உரனில் நீ பிறந்துரிமை யாதலால்
அரசு நின்னதே ஆள்க என்றனன்.
( Since your mother got the kingdom as kanya Shukam during her marriage, the kingdom is yours.You alone are entitled to rule the kingdom)This is what Rama told Bharata when the latter met him in the forest and requested Rama to return.


Dasaratha's folly
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1. The kingdom of Kosala was a wedding gift to kaikeyi.Actually Bharata alone is entitled to rule.In fact Dasaratha should have done this himself.

2, Rama was the endearing child born to Dasaratha in his old age.

3. As per Shulka Nyayam, prevalent in those days,The kingdom belongs entirely to Kaikeyi and dasaratha had no right whatsoever on the property.As he does not own, he cannot gift it to Rama or anybody.In case Kaikeyi had no issues, the kingdom would automatically go to kaikeyi's brother..

4. Dasaratha was aware of all these things. But his unlimited love and affection to Rama, make him transgress all the rules. He wants to enthrone only Rama.After due thoughts only, he sends Bharata to his uncle's house.
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5. He gives training to Rama in certain administrative issues..

6. He does not bother to send Pattabhisheka Invitation either to kaikeyi's father or Janaka, Sita's father.He does not even inform Kaikeyi, who comes to know of the news through a maid.

7.As per Valmiki Ramayanam, Ayodhya kandam, 4th sarga, 25 th sloka, Dasarath openly saya"Bharata's absence is the apt opportunity to conduct pattabhishekam.He advises Rama to be always surrounded by friends as thereis a possibility of some hindrance to the function.


All the above indicate that Dasaratha had already realised that it was illegal to conduct the coronation. Perhaps he thought that once conducted it might be ratified later.

Kaikeyi welcomes the news about Rama's pattabhishekam whole heartedly and even abuses manthara.Manthara slowly poistens kaikeyi's mind .Kaikeyi also reminds Dasaratha of the two boons she had recd from the king and asks the king to implement the boons by crowning Bharata and sending Rama to forest for 14 years.
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Here comes the virtue of Kaikeyi.

Had Kaikeyi wanted she could have pointed out the Kanya shulka clause and claimed Bharata's entitlement.But had she done so, every one would become aware of Dasaratha's fault. They might talk ill of the king saying that the king wanted to gift something which he himself did not own to Rama. Or Dasaratha would be blamed for going against Kanya shulka promise.

She wanted to save Dasaratha from the abuse. She wanted her husband to retain his fame as unswerving from traditions and promise.She decides to take the great blame on herself to save her dear husband.
Kaikeyi might have requested for Bharata to be enthroned. Ok. Why did she insist on Rama's exile?.
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She knew the temperament of Dasaratha.Even if Rama is sent to any other country, Dasaratha would bring him back and subject himself to criticism.So she decides to send him to forest.
This kanya Shulk aspect comes to light only when Rama meets Bharata.Had Rama known this, he would not have accepted for yuvaraja pattabhishekam. neither kausalya nor Dasaratha would have revealed this to Rama. The only possibility is Rama might have learnt from Sumantra.
Kaikeyi's desire was neither to make her son a king, nor to send Rama to forest, Her idea was to save her husband from public insult. So she prepares herself to be noted for ever as 'the worst villainous and the the most cruel woman' in the entire world.
It is also stated that she knew the avatara rahasyam of Rama and that Ravana had to be killed by Rama after 14 years, That is why she fixes the period as 14 years.
This debate is not of a recent origin.Hundreds of yeras back the great Sanskritpoet Basu wrote a drama titled'Prathima natakam'in which kaikeyi is portrayed as a pure guiltless woman.
While there are people to throw blame on others and escape ,kaikeyi voluntarily accepted the blame that may continue for generations just to save her husband.

Jayasala 42

 

Dear Suryakala,
Thank you very much for the response.

To my knowledge Kanya shulka-literally meaningGirl price or bride price was only a practice. You know many of the practices have become unwritten laws and bear the name of tradition and culture.
The name
kanya Shulkam' is not acceptable to many and is equated to money given to sex workers( prostitutes) and therefore branded as 'vadhoo gift'.
The practice of kanya shulkam was not in the form of written law' but by oral undertaking, but was strictly followed.
Though Dasaratha ruled the kingdom, it was like an agency function. On any day kaikeyi wanted, it should go to her.

Though kanya shulk is given to the parent of the bride, the possession of the same rests only with the bridegroom with whom the bride lives.As it is intended for the welfare of the girl and children ,it is the responsibility of the giver of kanya shulkam to ensure that it reaches the bride and her children.
Dasaratha does not seem to have given'kanya shulk' to kausalya. normally this is given only to those girls who are very much endearing and whom the boy insists on marrying out of deep love.
The same thing happened to the fisher woman satyavathi. santanu who was after her promised the kingdom to her sons only and this resulted in Bhishma Pratigna of remaining a bachelor through life.
It will be interseting to note that Bhishma tella the following words to Yudhishtira in Mahabharatha.

1. ” That man who acquires wealth by selling his own son, or who bestows his daughter after accepting a dower for his own livelihood, has to sink in seven terrible hells one after another, known by the name of Kalasutra.
2. In that form of marriage which is called Arsha, the person who weds has to give a bull and a cow and the father of the maiden accepts the gift. Some characterise this gift as a dowry (or price), while some are of opinion that it should not be regarded in that light. The true opinion, however, is that a gift for such a purpose, be it of small value or large, should, O king, be regarded as dowry or price, and the bestowal of the daughter under such circumstances should be viewed as a sale."
3. Bhishma also talks about property rights for women.

Many of these practices are from Dharma sastras.The first one being 'Yama Dharma sastra' by Lord of death and the above lines by Bhishma are quoted from Yama dharma sastra only.
Dharma sastras contain so many rules about interest rates,intercaste marriages and also talk about exceptions reg annulled marriages ( divorces) ,Widows' remarriage etc etc which we consider as of recent origin.
As the present laws undergo amendments as per the needs of the society, dharma sastras also underwent many changes.Chanakya's Artha sastra is basically built on Dharma sastras only.

Dear suryakala,
The practice of kanya shulk has almost disappeared and has been susstituted by Vara dakshina as patriarchal sysytem started flourishing.Notwithstanding laws, it continues in different names.
Though Kanya shulk has disappeared, I saw a tinge of it in amarriage in Salem.One of the procedure before tying the auspicious knot is that the mother of the bride is given" paal kooli'' ( milk wages for breast feeding the child ) together with an old saree in rememberance of making her daughter sleep in her saree.
Another custom was to pay back 'the sappaadu expenses' the bride's parents have spent on food and other items in bringing up the girl child.This is given in the form of rice-5 bags of rice of 500kgs,- the bride has utilised in her 20-25 years of life in her father's house.I think they calculate at the rate of 25kg each year.What a strange practice of compensating and making the girl a slave !

Jayasala 42

 

Dear satchitananda,

Your doubts are justified.Yet Kaikeyi could not have revealed her affection to Rama so openly, as people may not believe.The Kekaya king who had recd kanya shulk might not keep quiet.
To talk to you plainly, all these discussions are acdemical only and may improve her creative and imaginary skills.Neither Valmiki or Kamban would have expected this type of discussions when they wrote the epic.unknowingly they have induced a sense of interpretation,creative ability, lateral thinking as opposed to logical reasoning.

We go into every character of the epic and look for some justification.That is the beauty of Indian epics.

[SIZE=-1]It was the brilliant Vedic era when Indian woman was honoured as goddess Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswati and put on the pedestals of glory. And so went the saying 'Yatra Naryastu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devta' - where woman are worshiped, God resides.[/SIZE]

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[SIZE=-1] With the advent of civilisation, rules changed, norms changed, even the dogmas, so did the society with human values taking a strident turn .. The 'Nari tu Narayani' woman worshipped as goddess turned out to be a slave in the hands of her male counterparts, faced social taboos and even indignations. Gradually she started losing her liberty, priority and liabilities. In fact she started losing her own identity in the course of time and became mere puppets dancing to the tunes of the patriarchs. The whole permutation and combination of that golden era changed resulting in the outcome of chaotic patriarchal society which blurred the human values to a great extent.
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[SIZE=-1] Since the dawn of that golden period,the condition of woman in the society took a drastic turn not within a year or two but for centuries and the plight was such that it went to the mires. The sole reason being the mindset of woman which was moulded according to the theories imposed upon her by the so called 'Elites'. She started realising herself as the 'frail' being, succumbed to her fate and the repercussion thereof was that she got humiliated, pestered and subjugated. She lost the whole lot of herself in the sands of time.
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[SIZE=-1] But to state the condition of females in Indian society, a lot many books have been written, theories formulated, but the plight remains the same in the general term through the years. .[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] Is it mere saying 'The hands that rock the cradle, rules the world' or truth? Women can conquer and outshine men but every time her dominance is inhibited, her worth underestimated and her values undermined.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]We need change of mindset-of both patriarchal men and women nurturing the same.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Let us wait for the golden hour.

jayasala 42
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