Disregarding each supplication from king Dasaratha, the embodiment of cruelty in the form of the queen, Kaikeyi, spoke with unyielding resolve. She cast her gaze upon the desperate, half-spent, and enervated King, who now sat with drooping spirit and weary eyed. Without the slightest trace of remorse, she declared! Illustrious King! Lamenting the boons once given does not augment your glory. Should you now recoil, grieved by your past commitment, how shall you claim to be a virtuous sovereign? You, who are well-Versed in the doctrines of righteousness, the intricacies of custom, and the stories heritage of kings!
When revered Rajaships speak your failure to uphold a boon given to your own wife, will you not grope for a convenient justification?
Will they not mock the idea that your very survival hinged on the mercy of Kaikeyi, who twice saved you with courage and chivalric devotion, only to find herself betrayed in the hour of recompense? O! King, your words meander among a hundred subjects, each aimed at evasion. Let me recount some examples that echo the value kings placed upon their word.
When king Saibhya, ruled, the Gods disguised themselves as a dove and Hawk to test his virtue. The dove, pursued, pursued and trembling, sought refuge in the king’s lap and pleaded for protection. The hawk, feminised, demanded the dove as its rightful prey, but the king Saibhya refused to surrender it, having vowed to safe guard it. The hawk argued that its own family will perish without sustenance. In response, the king, with unwavering resolve, offered his own flesh in exchange. He cut the flesh from his thigh and placed it upon the scales against the dove. But the birds weight surpassed all he could offer. Undeterred, King Saibhya hit upon the scales, and the gods, satisfied, revealed themselves and blessed him, declaring no king in the ancient world was as bold in his commitments.
Another example was king Alarka who was approached by a blind Brahmin seeking alms. when Brahmin, demanded the king’s eyes to fulfil his promise, without hesitation, Alarka surrendered them, and Brahma, moved by his steadfastness, restored his sight and rewarded his virtues…Even the Lord of oceans, bound by his oath, has kept the lines that demarcates his realm, abiding by word and deed. And yet the kings of yore honoured their, vows for cause unseen and unsolicited, you, O King, seek to evade your word for the same of your own queen. How shall be regarded among the Rajarshis…?
The promise given, in the truest sense, must be fulfilled. O! King, your desire to crown Rama and win the favour of Kausalya lies the promise you owe me. whether my demand is just or unjust, reasonable or absurd, lawful or unlawful, you must abide by your sworn word. Should you pursue your intension and anoint Rama, I will take my own life with poison in this very hall, for I would rather die than behold Kausalya as the mother of a crowned kind. By the name of Bharata, only Rama’s exile will bring me satisfaction, nothing else shall suffice”.
Her speech, laden with piercing examples and an unshakeable will, left no avenue for the king’s dissent. Though prepared to speak further, Kaikeyi paused, as Dasaratha sat in stunned silence, words failing him
Her rhetoric, sharp, logical, and eerily persuasive, hung in the air like a Specter, and yet, to the king, it was grotesque to see such astuteness wielded for so cruel purpose.
Dasaratha felt torn asunder, bound by his promise to Kaikeyi yet burdened by his duty to his kingdom, caught like an ancient tree at the mercy of storm. He swayed under the weight of his conflict, his strength ebbing as he collapsed, stricken by sudden sickness. In one last, desperate bid, he spoke, striving to draw Kaikeyi from the abyss of her resolve, as if these thoughts were not truly hers.
“Kaikeyi, your argument appears alluring on the surface, but in truth, they spell destruction. Whence came these ghostly notions that summon disaster? Never have I seen this side of you before, how has it seized you now? Come, let us seek a course that serves us both. Yet, the drama nears its end, and in the contest of wits, king and queen wielded their final moved. Who shall be recorded in the chronicles reshaping values, principles, and legacies? The threshold of a great turning point is at hand.”