Sumantra Ayodhyā Āgamana

Sumantra was Daśaratha’s charioteer and minister. This episode of the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells of his parting from Rāma at Śṛṅgaverapura on the bank of the Gaṅgā, his three-day journey home through Kosala, and his arrival at the palace. He brought Rāma’s last words for Daśaratha and Kauśalyā.

The farewell at Śṛṅgaverapura

Rāma got ready to cross the Gaṅgā at Śṛṅgaverapura and sent Sumantra back to Ayodhyā. Sumantra begged to be allowed to go on into the forest, for he could not bear to be parted from them. Rāma stood firm. The people in Ayodhyā needed Sumantra’s presence and service more than He did in the forest.

Rāma gave Sumantra careful messages and instructions for each person in Ayodhyā. There were loving words for Daśaratha and comforting words for Kauśalyā. There were instructions on how to speak to each member of the royal household and how to comfort them. There were also directions about the rule of the kingdom. The parting was very hard for Sumantra, who had served Daśaratha’s family all his life and loved Rāma as a son.

From the northern bank Sumantra watched Guha’s boat carry Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa across the great river. He stood and watched until the three on the far bank vanished among the trees. Only then did he turn back towards Ayodhyā.

The return journey

Sumantra’s journey back to Ayodhyā took three days and was full of sorrow. He drove the chariot through Kosala, past the same villages and river crossings they had passed on the way south. Now he was alone, and the chariot was empty of those who had filled it. The land itself seemed to share his grief. He saw the world as changed, and the joy gone out of the places he knew.

As he came near Ayodhyā, he found the city completely changed. Only a few days before, it had been gladly decorated for the coronation. Now the streets were silent, and the decorations were gone or sad to see. The city was like a woman who has lost her husband, with no colour, no music and no life. He drove through the seven kakshyās (entrance halls) of the palace and came to Daśaratha’s rooms.

Daśaratha’s questions

Daśaratha heard the sound of the chariot wheels and for a moment hoped that Rāma had come back. When he saw that Sumantra was alone, he fell down in grief. Then he steadied himself and asked Sumantra about every detail of the journey:

• What had Rāma said about him?
• Where had they slept?
• What had Sītā eaten?
• How had Lakshmaṇa behaved?
• Had Rāma looked back towards Ayodhyā?
• What had Rāma asked Sumantra to tell him?

Sumantra answered every question honestly. He gave Daśaratha the painful gift of full news of his son’s last days within reach. He also told him of the empty, sad land through which he had come back, a world from which the light seemed to have gone.

Consoling Kauśalyā

Sumantra also spoke to Kauśalyā, who asked him with deep distress about Sītā and Rāma. He comforted her truly. Sītā, he said, moved through the forest with a bright face and a light, happy step. She was fearless in Rāma’s company, as if the forest were her own home. Rāma walked the forest paths with the same calm and certainty with which He walked the palace halls.

Kauśalyā had asked to be taken to the Daṇḍaka forest to be near her son. Sumantra gently dealt with this request, which could not be granted, and gave her every comfort he could.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 52–53 (the farewell)
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 57–60 (the return and his account)