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The Demand for the Boon
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the throne of Ayodhya. Well! My father has given the throne to Bharath but how could Bharath accept the throne ? He has proved false to his elder brother; and the mother and the son have joined together and have stained the spotless honour and fame of the Ikshvaku dynasty. Of course, my father's promise
as been kept up. Now there is no need to fear anything but I will not allow Bharath to be peaceful. I will rout him; seize the throne from him and will enshrine Shri Ram upon it. Only then will I have some peace of mind....” Lakshman began to burn with anger. The attendants knew the nature of his anger. All began to shudder at the sight of the indignant face of Lakshman and feared some unhappy occurrence.
Lakshman sat in the topmost storey of his mansion and kept looking at the sky.
"If I seize the throne from Bharath, Shri Ram may not approve of my action and may not accept the throne. He is a great man. He has discarded the kingdom of Ayodhya and royal splendour as if they are as worthless as a piece of straw and has set off to the forest. He will not accept the throne. At the same time, my father will be greatly unhappy. That is another matter of worry. Instead of that, Bharath can ascend the throne and rule over Ayodhya but my father should not have any reason to be grieved. Instead of being here, why should I not also go away and join my elder brother? Then there will be no problem at all. I will live with him in the forest. I will enjoy the beauties of nature and I will always be rendering service to my elder brother.”
At once Lakshman became serious and silent. He rose to his feet and went to meet King Dasarath who was plunged in grief.
"My dear father! I too will join my elder brother and live in the forest.” Saying this, he bowed to King Dasarath and went out.
He went to Sumitra's chamber. He devoutly bowed to the feet of his mother and said:
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