At Home in Panchavati
From Ramayana,
By Kamala Subramaniam
(Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1988).
They had arrived at Panchavati. Rama looked around and said: “Lakshmana, this is the place which was indicated by the sage Agastya. Look at those trees laden with flowers and the river which is so near! This must be Panchavati. Look around, Lakshmana. You know only too well the kind of place I would like. Look for a place where there is enough water for us to perform our daily worship of the gods. Sita should be happy and we should have peace. Trees should be around and Samith [firewood], darbha grass and flowers should be within reach. Build for us an ashrama in such a place.”
Lakshmana said: “I am but your servant, Rama. I will build the ashrama but the choice of the location should be yours. I will not presume to know where it should be.” Rama smiled at the words of Lakshmana and together they looked around for a suitable site. After some rambling around they found the ideal place. Rama took Lakshmana’s hand in his and said: “Look, this place seems to me to be best suited for our purpose. The ground is level and it is surrounded by trees in abundance. Build an ashrama here for us. Close by is a small stream, and the perfume of lotuses floating on its surface reaches us here. And just across, some distance from here, is the river Godavari which the rishi told us about. There are mountains, and herds of deer are roaming on the slopes. Peacocks are dancing everywhere and the mountains have several minerals that glow red, white and yellow. The green of the trees together with these colours present the appearance of a painted picture. The elephants stand out against this colourful background as though they are etched in space. I like this picturesque Panchavati. Let us live here.”
Lakshmana built an ashrama there on the site indicated by Rama. He brought lotuses from the river Godavari after bathing in it. He made an offering of flowers to the gods that guarded the forest and spoke words prescribed for averting evil. He went to Rama and Sita. He told them that the ashrama was ready for them.
Rama saw how well-planned it was and how sturdily built. He was enchanted with it. He embraced Lakshmana warmly and said: “I am very pleased with you. You have done me a very good service and the only way I can thank you for it is to embrace you. You are wise, you are righteous, and, even without being told about it, you know what my wishes are. My father, I think, is not dead but is here, before me in the form of my brother.” Rama was shedding tears of joy and Lakshmana stood with an embarrassed smile on his face.
They lived happily in that ashrama for a long while without any disturbance. Sita enjoyed collecting flowers and stringing them, making friends with the birds, the deer and the peacocks. Rama was like Indra in Amaravati. He was happy.