Ramayana’s ‘other’ villains
To begin with, Kaikeyi
Ayodhya Kaanda of Ramayana, I feel, covers the most number of emotions than any other one chapter of Indian mythological scripture. When I read it, I find heroism, jubiliation, communal joy, retirement, resentment, betrayal, honesty, modesty, obedience, heartbreak, dedication, persuasion and also whats hailed as the height of wickedness.
That last emotion of wickedness is usually associated with the two characters in the title, Kaikeyi and Manthara. I will cover my take on the latter in the next post, the below story is about Kaikeyi.
From various snippets of my reading, I have collated information and present here the stories with my own perceptive interpretation. Credits due towards all that open knowledge out there in the form of books, movies, TV and most important of all, internet.
Kaikeyi is named so, because she was the princess of Kekaya kingdom before marrying Dasharatha. She is the daughter of Ashwapathi, the king of Kekaya Kingdom.
Ashwapathi was supposed to have had a magical skill of being able to understand animals’ language. But this boon also came with terms and conditions, that, if he ever reveals whats been said between animals to anyone, he would die immediately. And in one of the instances, while Ashwapathi and his wife who was Kaikeyi’s mother(there has been no mention of her name anywhere, strangely), were taking a stroll in the park, Ashwapathi chuckled hearing two love birds chirping. Observing this, wife insited that he tells her what the birds were talking about. The fact that, his wife insisted on knowing the birds’ conversation inspite of knowing that, doing so, would kill her husband really enraged, Ashwapathi. He banished her from his and his family’s life as well from the kingdom forever.
Nothing about her is mentioned in Ramayana after this incident and thus Kaikeyi was raised as a motherless child from very young age. This lack of motherly love and care and also her father’s rage towards his wife, is supposed to have left a long lasting impact on Kaikeyi’s mind. Although till the point of her infamous demands off Dasharatha, she is shown as a pious and loving woman/wife/mother, in many stories she is also said to have a constant ill feelingof revenge towards men in general.
Another notable aspect about Kaikeyi are the incidents around her marriage to Dasharatha. King Dasharatha, was already married to Kaushalya before marrying Kaikeyi, but has had no children from his first wife. This was a cause of great concern for the king, and the lack of a heir drove him to the extent of marrying another woman just for this purpose. Unfortunately for him, this didn’t fulfill the purpose either. For a long time, Kaikeyi was also childless, which heightened Dasharatha’s frustration. Both these facts are also known to have made Kaikeyi feel inferior and futile, aggravating her rage towards men in general and Dasharatha particularly here.
Many argue, these are the core reasons behind Kaikeyi turning villainous by asking Dasharatha the favors he detested agreeing to, but was bound to, coronating Kaikeyi’s son Bharata as the king of Ayodhya and banishing Rama to exile in forest for 14 long years. The act, which makes her the first ‘other’ villain, before Ravana.
Not withstanding, these, what seem like a negative image of Kaikeyi, she is also known to be the most doting wife as well as mother, among all 3 of Dasharatha’s wives (other two being Kaushalya and Sumitra). She is also supposed to be a good Samaritan taking up an evil and unwanted responsibility in the eyes of society, of making Rama go through the banishment, only so that he can defeat and destroy who is considered the ultimate villain of Ramayana, the Ravana.
