EMOTIONAL ETHICS OF LAKSHMANA

EMOTIONAL ETHICS OF LAKSHMANA

On hearing the death of the deceptive image of Sita during the war Rama is shocked thinking it to be real and Laksmana becomes emotional and consoles him, offering his views on the three purusarthas. He is upset that those who follow Dharma, like Rama are destined to suffer. Rama gives up his material wealth and the result is disastrous. The three purusarthas are attainable if one has wealth. All these arguments of his are his emotional outbursts. His glorification of Artha is a result of his frustration. In fact he too, at last, submits that all that he said is only to please Rama who is depressed due to his loss of Sita. The point to ponder is that his power of forbearance has collapsed and he gives vent to his strong feelings. Lakshamana has reached a climatic situation when al efforts to retrieve Sita have suddenly ended in disaster. Added to his Rama’s condition is so pathetic that he fainted on hearing the reported sudden death of Sita.

Lakshamana’s high emotionality quite often makes him a victim of irrationality and then he becomes blind to morals. He rebuffs fatalism when Rama is asked to go to exile. He does not find it wrong to kill Bharata and Kaikeyi and her kin when he sees Bharata arriving like a storm at Sugriva’s place, furious that Surgriva does not act according to his commitment. His tendency to flare up whenever he sees injustice in natural but, ethically speaking, he really has the virtue of magnanimity to calm himself down whenever he realizes that his reaction is too strong. In this context it is worthwhile to know become irrational only when he sees some gross injustice done by anybody. Laksmana’s outbursts therefore on Dharma are not his considered views, His view that Rama’s self control does not help him and Dharma is useless as it does not save him in adversity, is only a momentary reaction and not an expression of his lack of faith in Dharma, as is seen in his remark. ‘‘I have told all this in order to please you.”