ALONE BY THEMSELVES

"Lakshmana, you are my sole armed guard now," said Raama. "You will go first. Seeta will follow. And I shall walk behind you both. We must save Seeta as far as possible from the hard ships of forest life. Hereafter there will be none to keep us company and no fun or amusement."

Raama's thoughts went to his mother Kausalya.

"Lakshmana," he said, "should you not go back to Ayodhya and look after mother Kausalya and Sumitra Devi? I shall manage my forest stay somehow."

Lakshmana replied: "Forgive me, brother; I am not going back to Ayodhya." Raama indeed expected no other answer.

Thus now and again we shall see the human element come up and the divine Prince grieve and talk as common people do. This is the fascination of the Raamaayana. If Almighty God remains almighty and does everything Himself, then where is room or need for an avataar and how could the dharma of common men be established?