The Story of a Princess - 14

I always thought King Dashrath to be a kindly old person. Ahilya's episode showed me that he was also a shrewd statesman. He knew that he could not take a Rishi's curse head-on. He knew that the judiciary could not go against the priestly class in such matters. So he chose the safer option - he rejected Ahilya's claim to innocence and to her children.

This led to furious debate inside the Queens' courtyard.

Queen Kausalya understood the practicality of the king's decision, however bitter it made her feel.

Queen Sumitra was all for challenging Rishi Gautam's understanding of the situation, based on which he had uttered he curse. She believed that perhaps he could be made to see reason. Even if that didn't happen, it was the king's duty to stand by the truth, to lead his people to do the right thing, to tell them when they were wrong.

As for queen Kaikayi, she believed that while the king's stand was practical, some help should be provided to Ahilya so that she can live with dignity.

I, Ram and all Ram's brothers seconded Sumitra's suggestion. The king looked at us with heavy eyes and told us that we weren't ready to be kings and queen yet. We had all the idealism and none of the common sense. He did agree with Kaikayi and sent out orders to that effect.

Then he explained to us the mechanics of this particular knot.

The Ayodhyan society was divided into 4 classes - Brahmins who were the priests, Kshatriyas who were the warriors, Vaishyas who owned the businesses and Shudras who were the working-class. Till 4-5 generations ago, the entry to these classes was based purely on merit. Anyone could study any profession and if their teachers thought they were performing well, they would be brought into the relevant class.

Gradually, the system became corrupt. Priests would ensure that their progeny was brought into the priestly class, business-people brought their kids into the family business and the skilled crafts-people did the same. The warrior class still followed the traditions of merit-based entry because no warrior could be selected without the kings' approval. And Raghu-Kul, king Dashrath's family, he declared proudly, was beyond corruption.

"But why am I telling you all this", he said.

"The reason these classes were able to get away with what they did was that they were united, extremely united. No brahmin would tell 'outsiders' that another brahmin was a fool."

"And this unity is the reason I had to disappoint Ahilya. If I went against something as serious as a Rishi's curse, justified or not, the priestly class is strong enough to create dissent in the kingdom and cause revolts."

"No dear father-in-law.  You are mistaken about one thing".

King Dashrath looked at me with surprise.

"There are 5 classes in the kingdom. The fifth class consists of the lowest slaves in the kingdom - the women of the kingdom."

I saw tears in Ram's eyes when I said this.

"No Sita. You are wrong too. If all the women belonged to one class, they would have been stronger. They could gain political power and get the respect they deserve. But the women are so divided that people like Gautam get away with treating them like cattle."