LETTER: Story misinforms about Diwali night

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In the Nov. 22 Thresher story about Diwali Night, "Diwali night feeds, entertains crowd," there was an offhand remark about Lord Rama being banished from the kingdom because of a "scandal."

I'm not sure who provided this information, but this is the first time I've ever heard a version of the Ramayana suggesting anything of the sort.

In fact, quite the opposite is true. Rama's father was the king of Ayodhya, and he had three wives. Rama was the eldest son of the king, and as such, would be heir to the throne. One of the other wives wanted her own son to ascend the throne, and this was the reason behind Rama's banishment. One day, the king told her that she could ask any one request of him, and she capitalized on it by asking that Rama be banished and her son be put on the throne. The king asked her to relent and accept anything else, but she would not.

So, the king had to be true to his word and, with much sorrow, informed Rama about what had transpired.

Rama, as a dutiful son, accepted the banishment and told his father that he felt no ill will. Rama left quite willingly and quickly (without scandal) to spare his father any more anguish over the banishment.

What's interesting about this story is that Rama's brother did not want to rule the kingdom under such circumstances, and though he did run the kingdom out of duty in Rama's absence, he did not do so from the throne.

Instead, Rama's sandals were placed at the throne, and his brother administered the kingdom from elsewhere in the court as a representative of the real king, Lord Rama.

Rama's return from the forest many years later was celebrated by everyone in Ayodhya, and this celebration is Diwali. It teaches honor and duty and shows that good people can overcome the effects of one person's jealousy and manipulation.

Of course, the truth is not quite as entertaining as saying that he was banished because of a scandal, but given the importance of Rama from both a religious and philosophical standpoint, it's important that this event not be trivialized.

Vijay Pai

Graduate student

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the December 6, 1996 issue.

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