The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

Pitted

"I wonder why father called us this early," asked Bharat, as the brothers paced down the hallways of the palace at 6 in the morning. "I almost got killed by my grumpy brother for no fault of my own!" he attempted a glare at the elder twin, who was dragging his feet behind him, but thought better of it when Lakshman scowled.

"Calm down, I am sure whatever it is, it's worth an hour of sleep." chided Ram good-naturedly, leading the line of brothers down the long corridor. Shatrughan shook his head, and whispered audibly in Bharat's ears, putting his hand over his mouth dramatically.

"Not for my bhaiyya!" and he quickly took shelter behind Bharat when the third prince looked up again with an angry face planted. They entered the bejeweled door which marked the entrance of the throne room.

"Wow!" squealed Bharat. "The throne room is decorated quite nicely. Did we miss father's birthday?" Bharat was right; the throne room was decorated grandly. Flowers threaded on invisible threads hung from the ceiling, as if suspended in mid-air, strings of beads, shining white and retty were wrapped around the tall golden pillars which held up the room, and even the throne, which needed no adornment, was covered in luxury velvet. A velvet that the king kept reserved for birthdays.

"Oh, no." Shatrughan sighed. "We missed father's birthday." Ram shook his head guiltily, Bharat frowned, and even Shatrughan had the capacity to act a little repentant. Lakshman, however, had a crafty face on, and decided that he didn't want any of his brothers sad or regretting on a day which was sure to be filled with exciting celebrations.

"I'll cover for you all." He pulled out a small wooden statue of the king seated on his marvelous throne proudly, something that he had carved in his spare time, out of a small pouch in his dhoti, and handed it to Ram.

"Here, bhaiyya. You do it. Father should believe that we all contributed." Ram nodded, and they all fell in line as Dasharath and the queens approached them.

Right before Ram could say 'Happy Birthday!', Dasharath began speaking rapidly, exuberantly, joyfully.

"It's my 60,000th anniversary of coronation day!" he squealed, most child-like, and Ram froze, mid speech.

"Um, erm, yes! 60,000th anniversary-we knew that!" he laughed nervously as Shatrughan gritted his teeth at the horrible acting. The king looked expectantly at them, and they all beamed innocently back at him, even Lakshman. Ram decided that the king wanted a gift, and so...

"Here's our anniversary present!" he shoved the statue into his father's hands and fidgeted as Dasharath studied his regal form.

"Wow, Ram! It's perfect, and looks just like me! Very handsome! Come on, we are going out to celebrate in the kingdom. We'll be giving out grain and food to the needy, and rewarding all my loyal officials-" Kaushalya cut in quickly.

"But first, food! You need to eat on your father's coronation day!" Shatrughan saluted and ran away before Sumitra could catch him, Bharat made a flurry full of excuses, and only Ram decided to eat, and appease his parents, Lakshman deciding to do the same.

A few hours, a starving Shatrughan, a full to bursting Ram, an over spice consuming Lakshman, and a fainted Bharat later, the royal family, decked out in red and gold, ventured out of the palace without a carriage and a care in the world.

"No Sumant, we couldn't possibly take a carriage! I wish to see how my praja does, how they are!" Dasharath had refused Sumant's services, and given him a luxurious week off, something which the loyal adviser had most reluctantly agreed to.