Rāmāyana |Ayodhyā Kaṇḍa| Chapter 9

9. Kaikeyi is Influenced by Mandāra

[By the influencing words of Mandāra, Kaikeyi asks Mandāra for a plan to crown Bhārata. Mandāra suggests that she should request for two boons promised earlier by Daśaratha and ask that Bhārata should be crowned and Rāma should go to the forest for fourteen years. According to her advice, Kaikeyi strips off all her ornaments and lies on the bare floor of the room.]

Having heard these words, Kaikeyi started burning with rage and breathing with effort and fire like, she told Mandāra. 9.1

"I would immediately send Rāma to the forest and get Bhārata crowned as Yuvarāja." 9.2

"Oh Mandāra, do you see any method by which Bhārata would get the kingdom and Rāma would be forced to go to forest." 9.3

Addressed like this by Kaikeyi, the sinful Mandāra who was bent upon destroying interests of Rāma spoke like this: 9.4

"What a joy, Oh Kaikeyi, please hear me for I will tell you how to make Bhārata alone get the kingdom." 9.5

"Oh Kaikeyi, please hear from what is being told for your welfare as per your desire. Do you remember or are you concealing what you remember?" 9.6

"Oh pretty Kaikeyi, please listen to what I am telling you. I shall tell you and, please listen to it and then think about it." 9.7

Hearing these words of Mandāra, Kaikeyi got up from her well spread bed and told. 9.8

"Oh Mandāra, how can Bhārata get the kingdom and how can Rāma not get it? Tell me the means in detail." 9.9

The sinful Mandāra after hearing these words from the great lady, with an aim to destroy welfare of Rāma told. 9.10

"Oh lady, your husband went along with other royal saints gave help to Indra in the war between devas and asuras in the southern region and reached the city of Vejayanta in the Daṇḍaka where Asura Thimidwaja lived. He also took you along with him." 9.11-9.12

"There a very powerful asura called Śambara well known for taking many illusory forms could not be defeated by the devas in the great battle with Indra." 9.13

"In that great battle, the Rākṣasa used to kill those wounded by weapons and also when they were sleeping at night." 9.14

"There the very strong Daśaratha fought a very great battle and he was wounded by their weapons and his body was greatly wounded." 9.15

"Oh great lady, he who had fainted was protected because you carried him away from the battle field and there again the asuras wounded him and you saved your husband." 9.16

"Oh auspicious looking one, then he gave you two boons and you told him that you will demand them whenever you need them and then that great king agreed to your proposal." 9.17

"Oh queen, I did know nothing about this matter, till you told me about this, out of our friendship, which I have retained in my memory. Prevent the preparations for Rāma's consecration by holding it down." 9.18-9.19

"You request for the boons of crowning of Bhārata and banishment of Rāma for fourteen years from the kingdom." 9.20

"If Rāma is banished to the forest for fourteen years, your son would have captured the minds of people and would have established himself firmly." 9.21

"Oh Kaikeyi, the daughter of Aśwapatī, with great anger enter the room of anger, wear bad smelling dirty cloths and lie down on the bare floor." 9.22

"When the king sees you crying with great sorrow, do not look at him, nor speak to him." 9.23

"I know without doubt that you are the darling of your husband and for your sake the king even will immolate himself in fire." 9.24

"Nor is he capable of seeing you angry or stare at you with anger and for the sake of your love, the king will even forsake his life." 9.25

"The king is not capable of going against your words, Oh dull witted one, please recognize the strength of your charm." 9.26

"The king Daśaratha will give you different types gems, pearls and gold and do not fix your mind on them." 9.27

"Oh great lady, make Daśaratha recollect that he has given you two boons in the war between devas and Asuras and so stand firm in your objective." 9.28

"The descendent of the Raghu can will personally lift you from the floor and then make him settle down and ask for the boons." 9.29

You ask for the boon like this, "Oh great king Bhārata should rule over this country and Rāma should be banished to the forest for fourteen years." 9.30

"When Rāma lives in the forest for fourteen years, your son will grow strong and strike roots here." 9.31

"Oh lady definitely also ask for the banishment of Rāma to the forest because only by that all interests of your son would be accomplished." 9.32

"By banishing Rāma to the forest he would lose his charm of attraction, and Bhārata would become great as his enemy would be destroyed." 9.33

"By the time Rāma returns back from the forest, Bhārata would have stuck roots and that intellectual son of yours would have gained the affection of the people in company of his friends." 9.34

"You know that the proper time has come to ask for the boons and with force make the king change his intention of making Rāma as the king." 9.35

Understanding the extremely meaningful plan as one beneficial, that Kaikeyi became greatly happy and spoke to Mandāra. 9.36

That Kaikeyi who was a lady with a clear vision, hearing the words of the Hunchback was greatly surprised like an immature young girl and adopted the wrong path. 9.37

"Oh hunchback, I did not recognize that you are great and can speak great words. After knowing your intelligence, I think among the hunchbacks in the world, you are the best one." 9.38

"You are the one only interested in doing what is good to me in my affairs as but for you, I would not have known the evil intention of the king." 9.39

"Hunchbacks are physically retarded, crooked, bent and are terrible in appearance but you are like lotus flower bent in breeze." 9.40

"Your chest is tightly fixed and raises up to your shoulders and beneath it your navel and waist are slender and bashful." 9.41

"Oh Mandāra, Your hips are full grown, your breasts are round and plump and your face is like the full moon and you are regally lovely." 9.42

"You are glittering in your waist belt, which is making jingling sounds. Your calves of the legs are strong and your feet long." 9.43

"With your wide thigh bones and clad in silk and with lengthy strides, when you walk in front of me, I feel as if a swan is walking." 9.44

"In addition the thousands of illusory powers which asura Śambara had, are in you too, in many more thousands." 9.45

"Your hump which resembles a long hub of a chariot stores lot of royal powers as well as many magical powers." 9.46

"Oh hunchback, after Rāma has gone to the forest after Bhārata is consecrated, I shall decorate the hump of yours with a golden garland." 9.47

"Oh Mandāra, after my objectives in achieved and when I am fully satisfied, I will smear your hump with best quality pure gold." 9.48

"Oh hunchback, I will mark your forehead with a golden Tilakā and for your auspicious face I will make very many gold ornaments." 9.49

"You will walk wearing silk garments like a goddess. With your matchless countenance you will challenge moon for a contest and feeling greatly proud you will attain a great status among your enemies." 9.50-9.51

"Like you are serving me several well ornamented hunchbacks would be serving you always." 9.52

When Kaikeyi was flattering her like this, Mandāra looked at the white Kaikeyi who was shining like a fire in the sacrificial altar lying on her great couch and told her like this. 9.53

"Of fortunate one, there is no point in building a dam after the water has flown out and so perform your auspicious act and show it to the king." 9.54

That broad one eyed, proud because of her intoxicating beauty, thus encouraged by Mandāra, entered the room of anger along with Mandāra and that blessed lady threw the a highly auspicious a very precious pearl necklace costing several hundred thousand as well as several other ornaments and laid down on the gold like floor and then told Mandāra. 9.55-9.57

"Oh hunchback, go and inform Daśaratha that if Bhārata is not crowned and if Rāma does not go to the forest I will die." 9.58

"I am neither interested in gold or ornaments or precious gems, If Rāma is consecrated as king, that will be the end of my life." 9.59

That hunchback hearing the exceeding powerful and sharp words of the wife of the king, again said these words which are beneficial to Bhārata and harmful to Rāma. 9.60

"If Rāma gets this kingdom, it is definite that you will suffer and oh auspicious one, you strive in such a manner that your son would be crowned." 9.61

That queen, repeatedly hit by the words of the hunchback became sad as well as angry and she kept her hands on her chest due to great surprise and praised again and again that angry hunchback. 9.62

"Oh hunch back, either you will go and tell the king that I have gone to the land of the dead or inform me about the departure of Rāma for a long duration to the forest so that my son Bhārata shall get his desires fulfilled." 9.63

"If Rāma does not go to the forest, I do not need cloths, garlands, sandal paste, nor unguents, nor food, nor water nor even life." 9.64

That pretty lady, after telling these horrible words, removed all her ornaments and fell like a Kinnara woman and lay down on the earth without covering herself. 9.65

She who was the wife of the king, with her face darkened by great fury and with a restless mind, stripped off all her ornaments and looked like a dark sky without any stars. 9.66

This is the end of Ninth Sarga of Ayodhyā Kanda which occurs in Holy Rāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki as the First Epic.