kaikeyi the warrior queen

Kaikeyi the Warrior queen

I went for this dance drama. Rama Katha, by sathyanarayana raju. He gave a solo performance on Ramayana. The dancer is very accomplished and he enacted the role of Ahalya, Manthara, and Hanuman with finesse and such perfection that I was momentarily transported to the kingdoms of Ayodhya and Lanka. Then some thoughts stuck me. I want to discuss these with you. You will have to critically view my thoughts. Let me tell you before,  that for the purpose of this discussion,  I am not considering Rama as God here. I am seeing him here as a mere individual who is loved exceedingly by his mothers and father. 

Kaikeyi, who is the protaganist of this discussion, is a warrior queen. Passionate and beautiful. She got a good match with Dasaratha. He was older to her by many many years, but he compensated that with extreme love for her. As a woman, Kaikeyi wanted only love from her husband. She not only got her share among wives, but definitely got more than that. She was loved by Dasaratha for her beauty and more so after she saved him from a war. She did everything she could, to get more and more love from Dasaratha. So much so, that when Rama was born, and Dasaratha was elated with joy, she loved Rama more than her own son. The love she showed Rama, was more to please Dasaratha. However.Rama, as a recipient of the love from Kaikeyi, he loved her more than his mother too. Did Kaikeyi notice this or not? We do not know. But one thing is clear from the events that occured, that she could not see the depth of Rama's filial piety.

What happened when Rama and Lakshmana, followed dutily with Sage Vishwamitra to protect his Yagna? What were the events in Ayodhya? One can only guess that Dasaratha, in the absence of Rama would have gone back to loving his beloved wife, Kaikeyi more. Now all the more, he could discuss Rama with her. He truly believed that she loved Rama, maybe even more than him. Any parent would love to discuss about their children, their accomplishments, not as to vainly boast about them, but in a manner that would make their hearts swell with pride. Now that addiction is difficult to get rid of. More so, if you have a son like Rama. Maybe you would want to thank god, every second of your life, about how blessed one is, to beget a son like Rama. As Kaikeyi, was receiving this attention back from Dasaratha, was she thinking, that absence of Rama, was giving her more benefits than his presence? One can only guess. Maybe she was getting a taste of life without Rama, which she had not imagined existed. 

As a passionate person, she would do anything to increase the love her husband has for her, or cause astir, to get his attention. This was exactly her state of mind, when Manthara approached her. She was still not coherent enough to get the words out of her thoughts, but definitely had a different state of mind. This new Kaikeyi, did not love Rama , but was using him to get more attention from Dasaratha. This new Kaikeyi, did not want Rama to be main reason that Dasaratha loved her. She had seen the shift in affections, and did not like it. Manthara was only giving her a plan, but the goal was already decided by Kaikeyi. Though she did not accept Manthara words initially, it should be noted that it did not take much persuasion from Manthra to disturb her mood and agree to the action. Then what followed is just a drama by the woman, who knows what she wants, and knows how to get what she wants.

Every passionate woman has kaikeyi in her. Yes she wants the full attention of her lover, her worshiper, her God. She wants it so much that it unltimately destroys her and her lover itself. Kausalya and Sumitra were not so much affected by the love Dasaratha had for Rama. They were themselves genuinely in love with Rama. They got their share of attention from Rama. They were immersed in it. Kaikeyi got the same share, but since her cup was already full with Dasaratha love, she could not appreciate it. We are also similar. We keep seeking love, again and again at the same place. We are scared to look for alternatives. We want to keep digging the same ground for water. We should see the other places once in a while. Maybe there is more love available than we can ask for, in other relationships. Had Kaikeyi seen the love Rama had for her, or at least gauged the filial piety Rama was showing, she would have not taken this course? Of course, Rama was born to destroy Ravana. He would have done that. But in that process, Kaikeyi would have not been branded as an evil person.