Sumantra Drives the Chariot beyond the City
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 82
Doha 82 · Movement 2 of 2
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Sumantra receives Dasharatha's command with bowed head. There is no time for grief to delay obedience.
He prepares the royal chariot at great speed and drives toward the place outside Ayodhya where Sita and the brothers wait.
The vehicle once suited to coronation procession now becomes the means of exile and a father's last intervention. Dust rises behind the wheels as he presses onward without pause. Wheels cross the city boundary carrying contradictory hopes: Ram's determination to keep the word, Dasharatha's dream of return, and Sumantra's duty to serve both.
The royal chariot rushes beyond Ayodhya carrying a father's impossible hope toward Ram's unbroken resolve.
Read the passage from the Manas
-पाइ रजायसु नाइ सिरु रथु अति बेग बनाइ। गयउ जहाँ बाहेर नगर सीय सहित दोउ भाइ।।82।।
Receiving the king's command, Sumantra bowed his head. With great haste he prepared the chariot and drove to where Sita and the two brothers waited outside the city.