Week Four Storytelling: Lakshmana

He often sat alone crying in silence in the back room.  There were lit candles placed everywhere and the fragrance of myrrh filled the room.  The drapes were always shut, and the fireplace was lit. It was there in the corner of the room where you would find him. Sitting on the floor behind the chair and leaning against the wall.  In this place he was able to escape from his mother and brothers, and think about the love that he wished was his.  His mother would tell him,

“Be careful not to shame our family, and admire the things that Rama does. He is after all, the wisest and most responsible out of you and your brothers.” 

Rama was the eldest and deemed wise beyond his years. However, to Lakshmana there was nothing special about Rama.

It was not long ago when my brother Rama married a beautiful woman from a city nearby.  I often wondered what she saw in him that made him pleasing to her eyes.  Many days we would go into the garden behind our parents’ palace, and we would sing and dance around the well and play in the fields of flowers.  I would watch her hair as she would spin around, and listen to her bangles clank as her laughter filled the air.  She was free.  She would run to the stone bench where I sat, wanting me to hold her hands and swing her around in circles.  My brother would sit with his back against the rocks sharpening his arrows, telling me to entertain her. 

“Dance,” Rama would say, “Twirl her around like the angel she is.”

I would peek at her face while she squinted her eyes when we twirled around.  I would admire her beauty.  Beautiful she was indeed.  Her skin was kissed by the rays of the sun and her eyes reminded me of the honey that we would take from bees. She would laugh until she couldn’t laugh anymore, and we would always fall into the grass and gaze at the sky. She would hold my hand and ask me if I ever dreamed of dreams, and if I would ever find a love like the one she shared with Rama.

 Sita in the garden

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Sumitra yelled.

“Nothing,” Lakshmana said while wiping his eyes,

“Your wife Urmila is looking for you, and your brother is back from his journey.”

I didn’t want to go see Rama.  I had not forgiven him for what he made me do to Sita.  Many nights I would sneak away to go see Sita after Rama banished her from Ayodhya. It was she who kept us together when Rama was sentenced to exile twenty-six years ago, and inspired us to push ourselves to defeat Ravana when we were in battle.  Sita worshiped the very ground that Rama walked on, and now when he hears her name, he pretends to hear nothing at all.  I replay that day every day in my mind.  Seeing her screaming and crying while Rama dragged her out of the palace doors telling her to leave because he felt betrayed. He told me take her across the Ghaghara River where he knew she would be isolated from the world. He punished her for something she did not do.  Rama wanted her to die, and he sentenced me to take her to her death. In a field of marigolds she lay when I saw her last.  She gazed upon the stars asking the gods to bless Rama with good health and energy. Her belly was filled with children and she was too weak to move.  I fed her and then carried her inside the home that I built for her.  I wanted her to idolize me the way she did Rama, but I know she believes that her and my brother’s souls are connected.  

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana

Author's Note: In The Ramayana written by R.K. Narayan, the character Lakshmana is portrayed as a faithful brother who possesses close ties with his eldest brother Rama.  Rama and Lakshmana’s relationship is different in comparison to their relationship with their other brothers.

Before Rama and Sita married, sage Vishwamitra asked for Rama to journey with him to kill the Rakahasas who were disturbing his fire sacrifice. When sage Vishwamitra received the approval of King Dasharatha, Rama left with sage Vishwamitra and was joined by his younger brother Lakshmana.  When the three traveled to Mithila, it was there where Rama and Sita first connected eyes.  When the two wedded, the men and Sita traveled back to Ayodhya where Rama and Lakshmana’s father ruled.  Rama and Sita’s marriage was filled with happiness and love.

In later years, King Dasharatha believed that his eldest son Rama should rule the kingdom.  When Rama’s stepmother Kaikeyi found out, she reminded King Dasharatha of the promise he made to her.  He promised Kaikeyi that he would crown their son Bharata the king of Ayodha.  She also had Rama sentenced to exile in the forest for a period of fourteen years.  Lakshmana joined his brother Rama and wife his exile.

Unlike the traditional version of the epic, in Sita Sings the Blues, Lakshmana plays a small part but the audience is able to visually see his emotions being expressed.  When Sita is abducted by Ravana, Rama and Lakshmana go to war and defeat the demon king Ravana.  When they return back to Ayodhya, the townsmen begin to question the fidelity of Sita during the time of her captivity.  Rama believes that in order for his people to take him seriously, he must send Sita to exile.  Lakshmana takes Sita away from Ayodhya.  The two travel by boat and Lakshmana drops Sita off in the middle of nowhere.  It is in this scene where the audience sees Lakshmana affected emotionally by Sita's banishment more so than Rama, who only wants to test Sita's fidelity no matter the cost. 

Bibliography: "Sita Sings the Blues" Nina Paley (2008)

                         "The Ramayana" written by R.K. Narayan (1977)