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344
JAIN RAMAYAN
"Oh lord of my life! Since you have decided to pursue Sadhudharma instal my son Bharath on the throne of Ayodhya with all grandeur and eclat".
Hearing the words of Kaikayi King Dasarath kept looking at her with fixed eyes. He was silent for a while. Then, he
said in a serious voice.
"Is this all? Anything else? You want the Kingdom of Ayodhya. Is that so? You can take it at once."
Kaikayi was thrilled to the brims of her being. Her mind began to dance like a peacock. King Dasarath sent a guard to bring Ram and Lakshman. Kaikayi's desire was fulfilled.
Of course, Kaikayi's motive in demanding that boon was that her son Bharath should remain with her instead of going away with his father as a sadhu. She did all that only with that purpose. Her desire was that the responsibility of ruling over the country must be placed on Bharath's shoulders, so that he might remain in samsar; so that he might not become a sadhu and so that he might be enjoying worldly delights for a long time. She could not think of any other method to compel Bharath to remain in the samsar.
She was not worried about Shri Ram's reaction. Of course, she knew very well that the throne of Ayodhya should rightly go to Shri Ram and not to Bharath. But Shri Ram loved her, Sumitra and Suprabha as much as he loved his mother AparajitaKausalya. She also had in her mind the idea of explaining everything to Shri Ram afterwards. She also knew very well that Shri Ram loved Bharath greatly and that he would not be angry when Bharath was made the king of the country. On the contrary, he would be happy.
Queen Kaikayi was a noble woman. She possessed great purity and culture. Moreover, she loved all the four brothers as her dear sons. She did not hate Shri Ram but, of course, she had a little partiality for her son Bharath and this was natural.
As soon as they received the message of Dasarath, Ram and Lakshman came to meet him. As soon as they entered the
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