CAN RAM BE MARYADAPURUSHOTTAM

WAS RAM ACTUALLY MARYADAPURUSHOTTAM !

I am not sure if Ram ,was actually the incarnation of GOD,or even if he was a historic figure,but he is definitely the hero of the great Indian epics,Ramayana and Ramchatramanas,where Balmiki and Tulsidass have presented him as the ideal man !

Ram,as characterized in these epics,is supposed to be the Supreme man-the savior of prestige and honor ! Born in Ayodhya as the eldest son of raja Dashratha,after the consumption of the Kheer received as prasad from the Agni Devta,following a havan,by his mother( Probably artificial insemination ! )he was an adorable child , an obedient student and a great son.He married Sita after a Swamwar,and happily sacrificed the throne and willingly left for fourteen years of exile,to fulfill the wish of his step mother,only to keep the honor of his fathers promise.He subsequently has an intense and prolonged battle with Ravana,the king of demons on earth,and rescues his wife Sita,from ravan's clutches and kills him,relieving millions of people,from his terror.

The good part of Rama seems to end here.Before he accepts his wife,he insisted that she undergoes a test to prove that she has not had any physical relationship with Ravana.He becomes the king,and that too, a considerate one.When he hears one of the citizens,criticizing his decision to accept his wife,after she had been captive of ravana, to please his kingdom,he abandons his pregnant wife ,and has her left in he jungle and that too in a clandestine way.Few years later when he comes to know,that he has two brave sons,he is willing to accept them,but not his wife,who then ,unable to take insult after insult,commits suicide.

On several occasions and specially on this day of Ramnavmi,when we celebrate the birth of Lord Rama, I think if he can really be called the Maryada-Purushottam ! All the above has been explained by several preachers of Ramayan and Rambhakts, as to why all this was essential and how it is the facade to a devine plot,but I refuse to accept it.Ayodhya could get another king,but Sita and her kids had Rama,as the husband and father.If he was born and grown up to be the responsible king,for whom duty came before self and kingdom before family,then he should not have married.Matured man,as he was and is considered to be,he should have the discretion to react to things said by any and everyone.Distrusting a wife and making her publically prove her fidelity is bad enough,but to abandon a pregnant lady to the jungles is criminal.Even the female convicts,when pregnant are given considerable relaxations.A man who cannot fulfill his responsibilities,for whatever reasons,has no right to take them over.

Charity begins at home.............a person who is a bad ,inconsiderate and irresponsible husband and father,can never be a good ruler.He sacrificed his married life,not due to his love for the kingdom,but due to the fear of loosing his throne.If he was a great man,and wanted to please the public,he could have handed over the reign of kingdom to his brothers and left with his pregnant wife.The kingdom did run smoothly for fourteen years without him !

A husband who cannot trust and protect his wife or shoulder the responsibilities of a father,cannot be Mariyadapurushottam !

Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow