Lessons from Ramayana

Question: Swami, although Manthara [Kakeyi’s personal maid] and Surpanakha [Ravan’s sister] are two minor woman characters in the Ramayana, both of them appear crucial in leading to major developments. What lessons should we learn from these two characters?

Bhagavan: In the Ramayana, Manthara symbolizes anger and Surpanakha represents desire. Rama and Lakshmana [His brother] were playing with a ball during their childhood. As ill luck would have it, the ball hit Manthara’s hunchback. All the children playing with Rama and Lakshmana saw this and laughed so loudly that she was terribly upset and humiliated. She thought that Rama had thrown the ball intentionally to hit her. Since that day, she grew revengeful of Rama and looked out for an opportunity to retaliate. This made her speak all kinds of falsehood to Kaikeyi, ultimately leading to Kaikeyi’s demand for Rama’s exile on His coronation day and the coronation of Bharata [her son] instead.

Surpanakha saw Rama in the forest and was attracted by His personality. She prayed to Him to marry her. Rama gently and softly sent her away telling her that He was already married and that His wife, Sita, was with Him. And if she was still desirous of a marriage, she could approach Lakshmana and marry him.

Accordingly, Surpanakha approached Lakshmana with a similar plea. Lakshmana then cut her nose and ears and turned her away. Returning to Lanka, she said to her brother Ravana, “Oh! Brother! I have no words to describe Sita’s beauty. What a charming woman she is! I feel a king of your stature and splendor alone should have Sita as his spouse. After all, Rama, a mere human being, doesn’t deserve her. Brother! You should win her hand somehow or the other.”

Then Ravana asked her a question, “Sister! When your nose and ears were being cut off, what were you doing? Did you simply keep quiet, without resisting?” Surpanakha replied, “Brother! What else could I say other than keep silent at that moment? Brother! Believe me or not, I was lost totally watching the majestic beauty and divine personality of Rama all the time. I did not know what was happening.”

Therefore, it should be very clear to you by now that Manthara’s anger was responsible for Rama’s exile, and King Dasaratha’s [Rama’s father] death was a consequence. This was the sequence of events that followed the anger of Manthara.

Now how about Surpanakha? Her unfulfilled desire to marry Rama, her humiliation at the hands of Lakshmana, and her report to Ravana extolling Sita’s beauty, all led to Sita’s abduction and her separation from Rama. Was it not her desire that proved to be the main cause of all these events? So both the characters speak about the tragedy that would befall anyone who falls victim to anger and desire.

Source: Satyopnishad, Vol. 2