In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

22 Everyone Has Anxieties “Lakshmana’s Laugh” begins just after Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita have returned to Ayodhya after the war in Lanka. Rama has convened his entire court for the first durbar (royal assembly) since his exile. He sits surrounded by his newly crowned vassal kings, Vibhishana and Sugriva, and the monkey army. Suddenly, Lakshmana laughs out loud in court, a transgression of proper behavior . The cause of his laugh is innocent. According to a folktale, Lakshmana refuses to sleep during the forest exile because he wants to guard Rama and Sita from danger at all times. When Goddess Sleep first orders him to sleep, he asks her to let Urmila slumber for him: Urmila can sleep day and night so that Lakshmana can keep awake all the time. The goddess agrees to do so until, and only until, Rama returns and holds court in Ayodhya. The minute that Rama calls the court to order, Goddess Sleep appears. Lakshmana laughs at her promptness. Everyone in the court has some secret action of which to be ashamed, and Lakshmana’s laugh brings their insecurities to the surface. One after the other, they imagine that Lakshmana is laughing at them. For example, Shiva is embarrassed at how enamored he is with Ganga, the river goddess, whom he still keeps in his hair as a second wife.1 Vibhishana feels ashamed that he contributed to the death of his brother, Ravana, by telling Rama that Ravana’s source of strength came from the pot of celestial nectar in his belly. Rama shot at Ravana’s stomach and killed him. Hanuman felt humiliated because Indrajit, Ravana’s son who is much younger than Hanuman, defeated him in battle.2 In a skillful way, the song suggests that no character in the story is free from blemishes or anxieties about those blemishes. The song depicts Rama getting easily offended and acting hastily. If Shiva and the women had not dissuaded him, he would have killed his younger brother, without even finding out why he laughed. Rama feels terrible when he hears the real cause of the laugh. Hastily again, he decides to kill himself because he had raised his sword against his brother. Vasishtha counsels him instead to give Lakshmana a foot massage, in order to show his remorse. Lakshmana was sleep deprived, so once he sleeps deeply and then receives a massage from Rama, balance is restored. For fourteen years, Lakshmana sacrificed his 1. When the heavenly Ganges River fell to earth, Shiva protected the earth’s inhabitants from the impact of her fall by providing his matted hair as a place to land, so Ganga is often depicted as dwelling in Shiva’s hair. Some stories portray her as one of his wives. 2. Indrajit used Brahma’s divine one-time weapon, which binds anyone against whom it is used, against mighty Hanuman. 222 Epilogue life in the palace and the companionship of his wife Urmila in order to guard Rama in the forest. When Rama massages Lakshmana’s feet, the gesture affirms that Rama recognizes how precious Lakshmana is to him.Well-being is restored and the song ends auspiciously. [V. N. R.] Source: Sripada Gopala Krishnamurthy, ed., Strila Ramayanapu Patalu [Women’s Ramayana Songs] (Hyderabad: Andhra Sarasvata Parishattu, 1955), pp. 225–229, 241.3 Lakshmana’s Laugh women’s folksong It was a moonlit night. The king of Kosala, the great ruler of the entire world, was holding court out in the open. Thousands of seats were set up so all the people could sit. Vibhishana arrived with a bunch of betel leaves and offered them to King Rama. Rama gave betel leaves to the Brahmins that came. The monkey army sat to the left of Rama, the warrior who killed Vali. Rama gave Vibhishana lots of gifts, clothing, and jewels. There were tributes of chariots, horses, and gold and Rama viewed all seven million of them. Sugriva sat near Rama’s feet serving his lord, who was stronger than a lion. While the court was in full session, Rama’s brother, the mighty Lakshmana, felt sleepy. His words were faltering and his head was heavy. He tried to stay awake but he began to doze. He stood up straight in his brother’s court, shook his head and started to laugh. Right in the middle of Rama’s court, Lakshmana laughed, laughed aloud. He laughed and laughed, and the king was upset. Something seemed to worry them all and...

Share