Indra Calls the Gods to Weave an Illusion
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 294
Doha 294 · Movement 2 of 2
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Indra sees Rama held by love and modest hesitation. No command can move cleanly while the Lord feels the pain of every person before him.
The king of heaven grows anxious that Bharata's devotion and Janaka's wisdom will return Rama to Ayodhya, closing the forest path upon which the gods have placed their hope.
He calls the celestial powers together and urges them to weave an illusion from the elements of worldly confusion. If ordinary counsel cannot overcome love, perhaps obscurity can disturb the minds that must decide. Heaven turns from prayer toward manipulation, revealing how fear can make even gods distrust the purity they depend upon.
Unable to answer love with love, Indra asks heaven to cloud the very minds whose purity has defeated celestial strategy.
Read the passage from the Manas
रामु सनेह सकोच बस कह ससोच सुरराज। रचहु प्रपंचहि पंच मिलि नाहिं त भयउ अकाजु।।294।।
Raamu, bound by love and gentle modesty, spoke with deep concern to Indra, king of the gods: "Gather the five elements and weave an illusion together, for otherwise all will be lost."