The Many Loves of Rama
The Selfless Monarch
A close re-reading of Rama's most contested decisions, exploring the logic of his choices as both man and avatar.
Overview
Bhagwan Rama endured abandonment, exile, and betrayal that would have broken an ordinary person — and yet he never turned bitter, never grew petty, and never stopped extending love even to his enemies. That composure has drawn devotion across millennia, but it has also raised questions that devotees rarely ask aloud: Why did he kill Vali from hiding? Why did he mock Shurpanakha? Why did he stand silent while Sita entered the fire? And why, after she passed that test, did he still send her away at a washerman's word?
Meera Prakash takes these uncomfortable questions seriously rather than deflecting them. She examines the choices Rama faced both as a human being constrained by circumstance and as a divine incarnation bound by cosmic purpose, tracing the logic — and the cost — of each decision. The book also maps the web of relationships around him: the three brothers, the mothers, Hanuman, Sugreeva, Vibhishana, and the many others who loved Rama and, in loving him, served a purpose larger than themselves.
Readers who grew up with the Ramayana will find here not a defence of Rama, but a deeper reading of what his story actually demands of us.
For an ordinary human being, the events dotting the life journey of Bhagwan Rama had enough to make him resentful, angry, jealous and full of ego. Yet he was none of this. Bhagwan Rama radiated love to all, including his worst enemies-and is loved by us all even today. But still, we question some of his decisions as Maryada Purushottma: Why did he kill Vali from behind? Why did he mock Suparnakha? Why did he condemn Jatayu (initially)? Why did he look on silently when Mata Sita decided to undego Agnipareeksha? Why, despite seeing Sita clear the 'fire-test', did he pay heed to the washerman and exile his pregnant wife to the forest? The Many Loves of Rama by Meera Prakash provides multi-level answers to these complex questions that confound us. The book explores the options Bhagwan Rama had, both as an ordinary human being and as an incarnation. Can he be 'sbolved'? The book also looks at the roles and significance of the people present around Bhagwan Rama, who helped the cause of the Visnu-incarnate in their own myriad ways. From his three brothers, mothers, Hanuman, Sugreeva, to Vibhishana, and many others-Rama always had people helping him because they loved him. And he loved them all.
