Vedic Katha
On the eve of his coronation, Rama was sent into fourteen years of forest exile by Kaikeyi's two boons.
All Ayodhya was garlanded for the coronation of Rama as crown prince. King Dasharatha, old and joyful, could not wait to see his beloved eldest son on the throne.
The hunchbacked maid Manthara whispered to Queen Kaikeyi that once Rama was king, she and her son Bharata would be left with nothing. Fear took root.
When Dasharatha came to her, Kaikeyi demanded: that Bharata be crowned king, and that Rama be banished to the forest for fourteen years, dressed as an ascetic. The king was shattered;
Rama gave away his wealth, put on bark garments, and set out. Sita refused to stay behind: a wife's place was with her husband. Lakshmana would not be parted from his brother.
The exile is the great hinge of the Ramayana. Rama's serene acceptance, choosing his father's honour and dharma over a throne that was rightfully his,
Rama's serene acceptance of exile, choosing his father's honour and dharma over a throne that was rightfully his, is the model of maryada (righteous conduct) for which he is called Maryada Purushottam, the…
Vedic Katha
The complete story, its characters and sources, on Vedic Katha.