Jain Spirit 2005 12 No24

SR No.: 529004
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains
Publication Year: 2005
Total Pages: 102
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, UK_Jain Spirit, & UK
File Size: 21 MB

Page 79

illustration: Vasant Chinchwadkar
ARRIVING NEAR THE SHRUB, SHE FINDS HIS DECAPITATED BODY.
Abo
HISTORY
up to be a great and noble king. At the same time, in another great dynasty, the Ikshvakus of Ayodhya, Dasharatha ascends the throne and begets four sons: Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and
Shatrughna. One day, the neighbouring king Janaka is overrun by hostile tribes and requests Dasharatha's help. Rama and Lakshmana are sent to his aid and Rama is awarded the hand of Janaka's daughter, Sita in return. Some time later Dasharatha is struck by the ephemeral nature of the material world and he decides to abdicate and renounce the world. Bharata shares his father's feelings and also wishes to take diksha. When his mother Kaikeyi hears of this, the dread of losing both her husband and her son at the same time, is too much to bare. Therefore, she asks Dasharatha, by way of a boon, to make Bharata the new king instead of Rama, prohibiting Bharata's renunciation. Hereupon Rama decides to go into voluntary exile to facilitate Bharata's rule. Sita and Lakshmana accompany him. The threesome head towards the south to start a life in the forest.
On their way, they encounter many devout Jain rulers in distress. In return for Rama's aid, all become allies of the kingdom of Ayodhya. After settling in the Dandaka forest, one day Lakshmana goes out for a walk and spots a magical sword hovering in the air. He takes the sword and hacks into a bamboo shrub nearby to test its qualities. As he pulls the sword back, the head of a young boy rolls out of the shrub. While Lakshmana runs to Rama to inform him of what happened, Ravana's sister, Chandranakha, arrives there to visit her son who had been performing austerities for years to obtain that magical sword. Arriving near the shrub, she finds his decapitated body.
Looking around for his killer, she sees Rama and Lakshmana in the distance and forgets her sorrow and immediately falls in love with them. She approaches them, but when the brothers politely decline her, she runs away and sends armies of Rakshasas after them. All are slain by Lakshmana. When Ravana himself goes to the battlefield, he notices the beautiful Sita nearby and falls in love with her. Using one of his vidyas, he lures Rama away from her, quickly grabs her and flies with her to Lanka.
Meanwhile, Sugriva, the king of the Vanara dynasty, is banished from his kingdom by a doppelganger, in fact a disgruntled suitor of his wife, Tara. Roaming through the woods with a few loyal servants, Sugriva heads towards where his long-term allies, the Rakshasas are fighting Lakshmana, to ask for their help. Arriving there, he witnesses Lakshmana obliterating the Rakshasa forces and grows even more desperate. Running out of options, he approaches Rama and Lakshmana for help. Rama promises Sugriva to help him, provided that Sugriva assist Rama in the search for his missing wife. Rama For Personal & Private Use Only
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