Ramayana_VOLUME V with index

Ramayana: A Divine Drama – Vol. V
to stop the chariot. Sumantra drank in with avidity the nectar of
moral analysis that Rama had vouchsafed to convince him.
(RKRV Part I p.336-337
Sumantra makes misleading tracks on the orders of Rama to
deter the citizens of Ayodhya from following them:
The people who had followed him over long distances were so
tired physically that, after the meal, they fell into deep
undisturbed sleep. Rama knew that, on waking, they will all
insist on accompanying him. So, he woke Sumantra up and
directed him to get the chariot ready without the least noise and
drive the vehicle so that its track may not be recognised.
Sumantra recognised that there was no other way. He drove so
that the tracks were confusingly complex, and even gave faint
indications that the chariot had turned towards Ayodhya itself!
After skilfully laying these tracks, he drove forward in the
direction of the forest.
The Agony of the citizen of Ayodhya:
The new day dawned! The citizens of Ayodhya rose and looked
around. There were no signs of the Royal Chariot! Nor were Sita,
that he had given to Kaikeyi, in his capacity as a king, he had banished
Ramachandra to the forest. But on the day, when Dasaratha was asking
the chariot to stop, with the intention of having another look at
Ramachandra, he did so in the capacity of a father. He is not uttering
these orders in the capacity of a king. This order is something which is
connected with the relationship that exists between a father and a son,
which has nothing to do with a king. He told Sumantra, “You have
obeyed the orders of your king. You did not obey the orders given by my
father.” We should observe the important distinction which Rama is
making between king and father.(SSB 1977 p.31-32)
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