Moreover, neither Bharata nor Kaikeyi had ever thought of or wished for the
fulfilment of this old and forgotten promise. During all the intervening years, no word
had been spoken on this subject. Hence the King thought there could be no difficulty in
installing Raama as Yuvaraaja in accordance with the custom of the dynasty and public
expectation. And there was no cloud in Kaikeyi's mind. This is clear from Kaikeyi's
behaviour. And Bharata was too and noble to raise a question.
And, yet, as Dasaratha told Raama, even the
purest of minds is mutable. When fate conspires with bad counsel, any one of us might be
corrupted. And this happened to Kaikeyi. The gods in Heaven had received an assurance, and
the sages had performed tapas or the destruction of Raavana. What we call destiny,
therefore, ordained that Kaikeyi's pure heart should be changed by Manthara's evil
counsel. So says Kamban in the Tamil Raamaayana in his own inimitable style. |
