Kausalya Refuses to Build Her Grief upon Blame
Ayodhya Kanda, Chaupai 282
Doha 282 · Movement 1 of 2
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Sumitra hears Sunaina's lament and calls the movement of fate strange and contrary. Creation, preservation, and destruction seem to pass through its hands like the shifting pieces of a child's game.
Kausalya answers from a steadier depth. No one is to blame. Beings, bound by karma, encounter sorrow and joy, loss and gain, while only the Creator knows the difficult unfolding by which every action bears its fruit. Creation and dissolution, poison and nectar alike, remain beneath the Lord's command.
She does not speak this to make grief unreal. She asks the mothers to look beyond grief's spell toward their true welfare, whether a king lives or dies. Sunaina recognizes the nobility of these words and sees in Ayodhya's queen the summit of virtue, a mother refusing to preserve herself through accusation.
Amid death and exile, Kausalya keeps sorrow from becoming blame and bows before the hidden law that bears both nectar and poison.
Read the passage from the Manas
सुनि ससोच कह देबि सुमित्रा। बिधि गति बड़ि बिपरीत बिचित्रा।। जो सृजि पालइ हरइ बहोरी। बाल केलि सम बिधि मति भोरी।। कौसल्या कह दोसु न काहू। करम बिबस दुख सुख छति लाहू।। कठिन करम गति जान बिधाता। जो सुभ असुभ सकल फल दाता।। ईस रजाइ सीस सबही कें। उतपति थिति लय बिषहु अमी कें।। देबि मोह बस सोचिअ बादी। बिधि प्रपंचु अस अचल अनादी।। भूपति जिअब मरब उर आनी। सोचिअ सखि लखि निज हित हानी।। सीय मातु कह सत्य सुबानी। सुकृती अवधि अवधपति रानी।।
Hearing this, Queen Sumitra spoke with deep sorrow: the ways of Vidhi are greatly contrary and strange. He who creates, sustains, and then destroys again. The Creator's mind seems as innocent as a child at play. Kausalya said: no one is to blame. Bound by karma, we reap both sorrow and joy, both loss and gain. The Creator alone knows the difficult path of karma, for He is the giver of all fruits, both auspicious and inauspicious. The Lord's command rests upon every head. Creation, sustenance, and dissolution, poison and nectar alike, all bow to His will. O Queen, it is futile to grieve under the spell of moha. The design of Vidhi is thus eternal and unshakeable. Whether the king lives or dies, dear sakhi, let us weigh carefully what serves our true welfare. Sita's mother spoke these true and noble words. The queen of Ayodhya was indeed the very crown of virtue.