King Dasharatha grieving at his obligation to exile Rama (image source from Wikipedia)
Dasharatha
Dasharatha was known to be the son of Princess Indumati and King
Aja. He eventually became king when both his parents died. He had three wives during
his life- Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. The story of Dasharatha mistakenly killing
Shravan Kumara is a good example of karma. He went hunting and thought he heard
a deer drinking water, but it ended up being a young boy trying to get a pitcher
of water for his parents. Dasharatha shot him with an arrow through his chest
and was completely mortified. This just exemplify karma for wanting to shoot or
kill anything that is outside. Needing to be more aware what was around him
before he assumed.
Rama and Sita
Rama is a deity and one of the most popular incarnations. The
story of Rama and Shurpanakha is another example of karma. For 10 years, Rama
was wandering and came upon Shurpanakha, known as a demoness. She was deeply
captivated with Rama, so she tried to seduce him but he rejected her. So, she
tried to get back by threatening Sita. The younger brother, Lakshmana,
retaliated back by cutting off her nose and ears. Ravana, the demon king brother
of Shurpanakha, kidnapped Sita and became attracted to her. Once Rama and Lakshmana
discovered Sita was kidnapped, they traveled far to find Sita. While Sita was
kidnapped, she was forced to be a concubine and constantly harassed, but she
constantly refused him. Rama finds Sita and Ravana and kills him then rescued
his wife. The story relays to karma for Ravana and Shurpanakha, knowing nothing
good will come out of it for being ruthless.
Kaikeyi
She was one of the wives of Dasharatha’s with their son,
Bharata. During that time, Rama, son of Kausalya and Dasharatha, he was going
to be crowned king. She was thrilled with excitement because it could have been
her son too, but Manthara, her nurse, got into her head. Manthara was worried
that Kaikeyi would be degraded and lose her status as Chief Queen at court when
Rama became King. She constantly reminded Kaikeyi and wanted her to be fueled
with jealousy and hate. Eventually, she caved in and gave into jealously. Kaikeyi demanded Bharata to be crowned King and Rama sent to exile for 14 years. When Dasharatha
heard of these demands, he immediately passed out. After sending his son to
exile, he was filled with grief and a broken heart then he died. In the end, Kaikeyi
lost it all. Bharata blamed his mother for his father’s death and swore to
never ascend the throne because it was Rama’s fate.
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