Filled with boundless grief and indignation, the people said to one another:
"What kind of a King is this who sends so noble a prince to the forest? And their
Seeta walks a princess that should command the service of the royal chariot. Can she bear
the heat and the rain of the forest? This is monstrous!
"We shall go then to the forest too.
Let us gather up all we have and get away to the forest with these princes. The forest
where Raama dwells shall be our Ayodhya.
"Let these houses here henceforth
deserted be, infested with snakes and rats. Let Kaikeyi rule over the ruins of Ayodhya.
Wild beasts and vultures of the forest will come to stay here. This will become a forest,
and the forest will become Ayodhya." |