Kausalya’s Ranting

This is in conjunction to Dharma Damned- Character Kausalya

        When Rama enters the Kausalya’ s house he find his mother in deep meditation and in the process of performing yagna and puja thanking the gods for making her son he King anointed. But on coming to know that Bharata is going to be the king and Rama is going to forest for fourteen years and live a saintly life, she crumbles, and in disgust rants about the failure of her Vraths (religious rituals like fasting etc.). One can expect this from normal modern woman but not from Kausalya. In fact this can be explained away as her deep seated love for Rama and the anguish of suffering 14 years in forest for her beloved son. No that is not what she says. See, she is disappointed that
1. I would have been better off without a son like you 2-20-36 यदि पुत्र न जायेथा मम शोकाय राघव |
न स्म दुह्खम् अतः भूयः पश्येयम् अहम् अप्रजा ||
Oh, Rama! I would not have felt this much grief if I were childless .You are born only to produce sorrow to me

2. I have not seen prosperity earlier which I thought I will get through you 2-20-38 न द्ऱ्ष्ट पूर्वम् कल्याणम् सुखम् वा पति पौरुषे |
अपि पुत्रे विपश्येयम् इति राम आस्थितम् मया ||
Oh, Rama! I have not seen any happiness or prosperity earlier, while my husband is in power. I believed that I could see them at last when my son comes to power.

3. I wanted to get rid of disagreeable behaviors from my co Wives (Kaikeyi) through power 2-20-39 सा बहूनि अमनोज्ञानि वाक्यानि ह्ऱ्दयच्चिदाम् |
अहम् श्रोष्ये सपत्नीनाम् अवराणाम् वरा सती ||
I have to hear so many disagreeable words from my fellow-wives who are inferior to me and who pierce my heart with their words though I am a better and virtuous wife among them.

4. She is talking about her grief 2-20-40 अतः दुह्खतरम् किम् नु प्रमदानाम् भविष्यति |
त्वयि सम्निहिते अपि एवम् अहम् आसम् निराक्ऱ्ता ||
Which one will be more sorrowful to women than this unending and consuming grief that occurred to me now?
not Rama’s
5. Complains about her husband 2-20-42 अत्यन्तनिगृहीतास्मि भर्तुर्नित्य्मतन्त्रिता |
परिवारेण कैकेय्या समा वाप्यथवाऽवरा ||
My husband always held me down, without giving me any independence and treat me equal to or even lower than the servants of Kaikeyi

        So in short what Kausalya is saying that she thought the religious rituals which she implicitly followed are all waste because she did not achieve her goal of power and wealth. The problem during Ramayana days and now are exactly same. We also hear these ranting in many houses and the children finally turn atheists without understanding the implications.
        Rituals are like discipline and following them will lead you to success and help you in facing misfortunes. They do not ward off misfortune.
        Say in a army there are many disciplinary rules about haircut, moustache, polishing the shoes, polishing the buttons etc. This does not mean that best dressed army will win the war. But if discipline is not maintained then even the best equipped and strong army will be defeated as in the fall of Vijaynagar. Going to bar watching movies etc. in itself do not bring calamities. But when misfortune strikes such people who had easy going will crumble and fail miserably.

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