Free The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan Page A

mind, you know, can be fickle. . . . He may question why he should not have been the king . . . after all. But if he learns of it as an accomplished fact, I do not doubt that he will be extremely happy.”
    His father’s deviousness was rather startling, but if he noticed it, Rama did not show it.
    This worry at the back of Dasaratha’s mind about Bharatha’s claim turned out to be a valid one. Though Bharatha was away, his cause and claim were espoused by his mother Kaikeyi so energetically that it brought on disaster and changed the whole course of events in Rama’s life. It came about thus. Kooni, a freak and hunchback (and nicknamed thus on account of her deformity), was the favourite of the King’s favourite wife, Kaikeyi. On this particular day she climbed to the top terrace of Kaikeyi’s mansion to view the city, and noticed the festoons and lights, and asked herself, “What are they celebrating today?”
    When she went down, inquired, and found out the cause of the celebrations, she became excited, bit her lips, and muttered, “I will stop it.” She hurried to Kaikeyi’s chamber and shouted at her mistress, who was resting, “Is this the time to sleep? Wake up before you are ruined.” Kaikeyi opened her eyes and cried, “You! Where have you been? What is troubling you?”
    “Your impending fate,” replied Kooni.
    Kaikeyi was curious, but still without rising she said, “Kooni, something seems to be the matter with your health. Won’t you call the physician and see that he sets you right?” She laughed and said, “Now calm down, sit near me, and sing me a song.”
    Kooni said sharply, “Do you know that beauty and youth are your only source of strength? And you owe your position as the queen of a world conqueror to your beauty?”
    “Do I?” asked Kaikeyi, still in a playful mood.
    “But both beauty and youth are like a wild stream, which, while rushing down the mountainside, crushing flowers and leaves, holds you in a spell. But how long does it last? Very soon it passes, and in its place you have only the sandy bed. . . . It’s only a question of time. When you are old and the cheeks sag, you will be a nobody, pushed aside with the back of your lover’s hand. You will be at other people’s mercy.”
    “Bring that mirror, let me see why you speak thus. Have I grown old today?” And she laughed.
    “Not old, but smug, and running into danger. Doom hangs over your head.”
    Now Kaikeyi felt disturbed. “If you cannot talk plainly, go away; and come later. You are somehow bent upon irritating me today.”
    “Don’t waste your youth and beauty, which hold your husband in a spell. Before that’s lost, get your husband to help you and save yourself. Get up and act before it’s too late.” Kaikeyi now sat up anxiously. Satisfied with the effect of her remarks, Kooni declared, “The King has cheated you. Tomorrow he is crowning Rama as the King of Ayodhya and retiring.”
    Kaikeyi got up, exclaiming, “Wonderful! Wonderful! Here is your reward for the good news you bear.” She took off her necklace and threw it on Kooni’s lap. Kooni received it and laid it aside. Now Kaikeyi said, “For the excellence of your news you deserve more. Tell me what you wish and you shall have it.” This really provoked Kooni to cry out, “I said Rama is becoming the king of Ayodhya, and you behave as if I had said your son Bharatha . . .”
    “I make no distinction between the two. It’s all the same to me. Rama is the one who was born to it, and as a mother it makes me proud and happy. . . .”
    “You, Rama’s mother!”
    “Yes, don’t you know that one in Rama’s position should count five mothers: the one who has borne him, a stepmother, a father’s sister, an elder brother’s wife, and the wife of the guru—all these have equal rank as mother. You understand why I feel happy about Rama? I adore him. I’m his mother as well as Kausalya is. And so make no mistake that I’m a fool and do not