What do you imagine when you think of royal families? Unlimited riches, luxurious lifestyle, not having to do any work except perhaps preside over the court and fight wars, right?
Wrong, this started much later.
The time that I am describing to you had much more responsible kings and queens, much less show-off, fewer servants in the royal household, more border skirmishes than full-fledged wars. Most of the families in the kingdom subscribed to the Old Way.
The Old Way was the way of the first humans on earth. It was believed that once Brahmaji had created the world, he requested Vishnuji to protect it. Vishnu accepted the responsibility of becoming the Provider and Protector of the world. He appointed kings and queens and gave them the responsibility of the people. He charged parents with the responsibility of caring for their young, the young were given the responsibility of the old, the rich were responsible for the poor and the strong were responsible for the weak. In this way, everyone directly or indirectly became the provider and protector of one another. This was the Old Way. Vishnuji, thus having reduced his work load, went off to the Ksheer Sagar to meditate.
Ayodhyans were deeply devoted to the Old Way. This was the reason that the kingdom barely needed any policing force. There were no thefts or murders. Nobody cheated anyone. Nobody was helpless. Such was the ideal society that was Ayodhya.
The royal family was the caretaker of Ayodhya. We had certain duties that we were honor-bound to perform. The foremost among them was the protection of Ayodhya from external attack. The members of the royal family were highly skilled Kshatriyas. Since childhood, we had been taught in martial techniques. Everyone was expected to excel in at least one technique. So, Ram was a master archer. Lakshman, who always followed in Ram's footsteps, had also chosen archery as his preferred technique. Bharat and Shatrughan were training under a swords-master. My preferred weapon was also the bow. The king wielded the sword. Queen Kaikayi, who came from the horse-tamer tribe, could use any weapon while riding. I do not know what queens Kausalya and Sumitra preferred. They never came down to the training grounds.
The second duty of the family was to assist the king in court. At any given day, at least two of us would be sent off to the courthouse to learn the art of kingship.
None in the royal family were inclined to while away their time doing nothing. We considered time to be one of the most valuable gifts given by Brahmaji to living beings. It became even more precious when considered that nobody knew how much time they really had been gifted with. So we would spend our time assisting the household staff either in the kitchen, or in the horse-shed feeding and grooming the horses, or taking care of the cows, or de-weeding the gardens, or we would just shoot off to the fields to work there.
If you are surprised, remember that this also was a direct implication of the Old Way. For a people to take responsibility of one another, they had to be able to empathise with others' lot in life. We were warriors, but we had been taught by learned sages, in an ashram as their resident students. We knew, therefore, the importance of being self-sufficient. In addition to the warrior's art, all of us had been required to learn at least one domestic skill. Giving responsibility in the fields and the barn was the King's way of ensuring we didn't lack in our education and didn't look down upon those who were not as lucky in life as we were.
The most colorful display of the Ayodhyan way of life was seen when spring arrived. Because spring brought with it Vasantotsava, the queen of festivals. It was the most beloved festival of the Ayodhyans. 2-3 months before Vasant Panchami, the kingdom would be abuzz. Preparations would be on to celebrate the festival. Artisans would stock up on their wares to sell in the festival Haat, so that on the days of the festival the markets would be covered with varied colors- red, green, orange, blue, white . Dancers, singers, actors, poets, story-tellers would converge to the capital city of Ayodhya. Warriors from all over the kingdom and from outside would come to the city to display their prowess.
Large grounds would be prepared for the games and entertainment. Overnight the grounds would be set up for the next day's events. A whole army of personnel was employed for the duration of the Utsav.
Ram and his brothers were very excited about the games. It was the first time all four brothers would be participating together. They wanted to compete in all the games.
I was equally excited. The heady mix of colors, the sweet fragance of flowers that Vasant brought along and the general excitement was making me giddy. I had decided to participate in the archery competition. I would be competing, among others, against Ram!
I wanted to experience the Utsav in its full glory. So, as my old habit, I donned simple clothes, covered my face and stole out of the palace.
It was as I was roaming around the town, flitting from one shop to another and from one entertainer to another, that I met Jatayu.
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