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368
JAIN RAMAYAN
“Dear father! Somehow or the other, I will bring back my brother Shri Ram. I will somehow prevail upon him to return.” When Bharath was about to go out, Kaikayi came there. She looked serious and thoughtful. Her deep anguish kept flooding her eyes with tears. She had grown weak and withered. She looked as if she had been ill for long. King Dasarath offered her a seat. She sat silent for a few moments. The atmosphere in the chamber was pervaded with silence mixed with anxiety.
“Dear lord...” Kaikayi could say only this.. Dasarath looked towards her anxiously.
"My lord ! You have kept up your promise by offering the kingdom to Bharath. But your polite son is not willing to ascend the throne. Hence, this calamitous situation has arisen. In fact, the situation is calamitous. You are unable to do anything; and our misery is boundless. Like me, the other mothers of Bharath also are plunged in grief.”
Kaikayi's voice was choked with grief. She found it difficult to weep. She began to weep; “Actually, I did not act with farsightedness. If I knew that such a calamitous situation would arise and that the clouds of anguish would thus envelop Ayodhya I would not have committed the sin of asking for such a boon. Though you have four heroic sons you are caught in a conflict regarding the choice of a successor to your throne.
who was responsible for the emergence of this painful situation. I have pushed you into the bottomless abysm of anguish. My Lord, forgive me. The anguish and grief of Queen Kausalya, Sumitra and Suprabha are heart-rending. I pushed the city of Ayodhya into the abysm of grief and anguish.”
The atmosphere in the chamber reverberated with her cries of distress. King Dasarath also shed tears. The Ministers and officials were all sympathy for Kaikayi.
"Oh Lord of the earth! Kindly permit me also to go with Bharath. I too will try to prevail upon Ram to return to Ayodhya. He is my beloved Ram. He will not certainly disregard my words. He will certainly return."
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