Kaikeyi

When Kaikeyi arrives at the Mantri Parishad, she sees many new, younger advisors that are loyal to Rama. Her bonds to the older advisors are mostly gone, which saddens her, as she spent years forming relationships that Rama has destroyed in mere months. After the meeting, she greets Rama, who reveals that he knew the asura was there, admitting that Vamadeva encouraged him to send Kaikeyi to see the danger of the asuras firsthand so that she can support Rama’s quest to rid Bharat of evil. He also tells Kaikeyi that Ravana is an asura. Kaikeyi is angry at the danger Rama put her and Lakshmana in, even as Rama apologizes. She tries to talk to him about his beliefs, challenging his thoughts about war and conflict, but he dismisses her.

Kaikeyi sees Kaushalya and Sumitra and finds their bonds slightly diminished. They seem excited about Rama’s upcoming coronation and do not question Dasharath stepping down. They tell her that a number of female servants have been falsely accused of working in a brothel and unfairly dismissed, but they do not seem as upset about the misogynistic display as Kaikeyi. In the instability of the transition of power, men feel freer to harm women and push out women loyal to Kaikeyi.

At the next meeting of the Mantri Parishad, Rama reveals that extra gold has been found in a Kosala village. A young advisor suggests using it to bolster Kosala’s armies, while Kaikeyi recommends using it to build an extra granary to help feed the people of Kosala. Rama chooses the army and his advisors side with him. Dasharath promises to take both under consideration, though Kaikeyi knows he will side with Rama. She talks to Rama after the meeting, trying to explain the negatives using his power to influence people against their will. She also explains that she can use the Binding Plane and sees his influence on others. He believes the influence of a god is a good thing, but she challenges him, saying that he is pushing Dasharath out too early, that he is too young. Rama grows more defensive and refuses to listen. 

Kaikeyi gets a letter from Yudhajit that her father is dying and wishes to see her and Bharata. Dasharath arranges for them to return to Kekaya.

Bharata feels troubled by Ashwapati’s death, as he has never encountered death in this way. They arrive and immediately go to see Ashwapati. He tells Kaikeyi that she was a good daughter and takes responsibility for banishing Kekaya before dying peacefully. Yudhajit then tells Kaikeyi that he’s heard news of Rama’s upcoming coronation and is angry that Dasharath broke his promise to Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi tells him that she has made peace with it, but Yudhajit says that the promise was not only made to her, but also to him and Ashwapati, a promise that is an insult to all of Kekaya if broken. He promised their father that Bharata would be crowned raja or Kekaya will wage war on Kosala.

Kaikeyi rides back to Kosala in a haze. When she arrives, she goes to talk to Rama to convince him to give up the throne to avoid war. Rama refuses, telling her that war is glorious and a war with Kekaya will be a good training exercise for the war against the asuras and rakshasas. Horrified at his unwillingness to avoid bloodshed, Kaikeyi decides to use her boons to solve the problem. Manthara advises her to use one boon to put Bharata on the throne and the second to make Dasharath not reveal her role in it. Kaikeyi visits Sita, whom she sees talking with the goddesses. Kaikeyi tries to help her by offering to delay Rama’s coronation, but Sita says she must be a good wife to Rama to help guide him to his divine purpose. 

The next morning, Sita comes to Kaikeyi to tell her that Rama threatened to hit her. Upset, Kaikeyi goes to see Rama. He is penitent, but argues with her over Kaikeyi’s continued unwillingness to agree with his desire for war and his divine purpose. She does not offer him forgiveness for hitting Sita, which further angers him. Rama explicitly espouses misogynistic beliefs, and Kaikeyi realizes she must exile him.

She goes to Dasharath to claim her boons. She asks him to delay the coronation and tells him that Rama isn’t ready, but Dasharath refuses. She asks for one reason that Rama needs to become raja now, and all Dasharath can say is that he feels it is right, deep in his soul. She demands that Dasharath banish Rama from Kosala for 10 years. Dasharath seems in physical pain, but she continues to demand her boons. Kaushalya arrives and questions why Kaikeyi is doing this, wondering if she’s jealous of her status as Queen Mother. Kaikeyi stands firm, demanding her boons, and Dasharath is forced to agree, though he, too, hurls misogynistic insults at Kaikeyi even as he grants her requests. Dasharath and Kaikeyi’s bond shatters.

Dasharath collapses. Kaushalya helps Kaikeyi catch him and tells Kaikeyi that she is angry at her—not for exiling Rama, whom she agrees is not ready to rule, but she finds herself unable to speak about it because of Rama’s power over her. She’s angry that Kaikeyi didn’t tell her about her plan. Dasharath wakes up, and Kaikeyi tells Kaushalya to pretend to be angry at her, as she does not want Kaushalya to lose everything, too. Dasharath tells Kaikeyi that she is no longer his wife. When Kaushalya tries to defend her, Kaikeyi talks over her, protecting her from Dasharath.

Kaikeyi cries in her room afterward, and Dasharath calls a meeting of the court, demanding Kaikeyi attend. When she arrives, Sumitra and Kaushalya are sitting beside Dasharath on his throne. Dasharath announces Kaikeyi’s boons and her requests. Rama is angry and betrayed, but he agrees to go into exile with Sita. Lakshmana offers to go with him, to protect Sita and guide Rama on the right path. He signals Kaikeyi to exile them in the forests near Janasthana. Members of the court denounce Kaikeyi, and she watches as her bonds in the Binding Plane collapse. Bharata speaks up to denounce her, too. He tells her that she is no longer his mother, and his bond to Kaikeyi shatters.

Kaikeyi is heartbroken by Bharata’s words. As she cries in her room, Lakshmana and his wife Urmila visit her. Lakshmana promises to protect Sita from Rama, to stay awake every moment if that is what it takes. The goddess Nidra, the very goddess Kaikeyi used to pray to back in Kekaya, appears and tells Kaikeyi that she has heard all her prayers, but that there’s little she can do for her other than help her sleep and dream. Nidra promises to let Lakshmana pass the 10 years without sleep, awake constantly, so that he can watch over Sita. In exchange, someone must sleep for the entire 10 years they are gone. Urmila volunteers, in order to protect her sister and husband. Kaikeyi is honored by Urmila’s sacrifice. Lakshmana and Urmila leave, and Kaikeyi falls asleep.

Kaikeyi goes to find Rama, who angrily offers her a position on his Mantri Parishad and more power if she takes her boons back, still believing her to be motivated by power. Kaikeyi refuses and tells him that he is not ready to rule, that she failed at raising him as he is selfish and callous. He refuses to leave Sita behind. Before they leave, Sita comes to see Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi apologizes for what will happen to her and tells her to go see Ravana in Janasthana if she needs help.

When Rama leaves, Dasharath wails and tears at his clothes as though it’s a funeral procession, collapsing in a fit. Kaikeyi goes to see Bharata, explaining that he must become raja or Yudhajit will declare war on Kosala. Bharata ignores her and continues to dismiss her when she tries to approach him after a meeting of the Mantri Parishad, and refuses to read a letter she sends him. 

Six days after Dasharath’s collapse, Kaushalya summons Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi listens outside the door as Dasharath tells Kaushalya about a boy he once accidentally shot with an arrow while hunting in his youth. When he told the boy’s parents, they cursed him and told him he would one day lose a son, his favored son, and that they hoped it would kill him. Kaushalya tells him that Rama is not dead and will return in 10 years, but Dasharath does not listen. When he falls unconscious again, Kaikeyi goes in to say goodbye, as she recognizes his deathbed confession for what it is.

Dasharath dies the next night. Kaikeyi grieves as they burn his body. Afterward, Kaushalya tells her that Bharata has gone after Rama to try to convince him to return, and Kaushalya will rule while he is gone, which gives Kaikeyi hope, as a woman is chosen to rule instead of Shatrugna. Bharata returns to the palace alone with Rama’s sandals, and Kaushalya tells Kaikeyi that Lakshmana talked him out of bringing Rama back, saying that Bharata’s first act as raja could not be to undo his father’s last act. Bharata summons the court and announces that he will not rule in Rama’s place. He puts Rama’s shoes on the throne as a reminder of his absence. He then curses Kaikeyi, saying she will be the last of her name.

Kaikeyi calculates the amount of time it will take the news to reach Yudhajit and how long it will take him to ready his armies to march on Kosala. In Bharata’s absence from the throne, Kaushalya and Sumitra pick up the slack of running the kingdom. Kaikeyi stays in her chambers, looking at the bleakness of the Binding Plane, with so many relationships destroyed since Rama’s exile. 

Yudhajit writes Kaushalya a letter giving Bharata a week to take the throne or they will attack. In the meantime, Shatrugna prepares the armies for war, as he and Bharata believe war is what Rama would want. Even though Rama is gone, his influence remains. Kaikeyi watches the armies of Kosala march out, powerless to stop it. She receives a letter from Ravana thanking her for sending Sita closer to him, as he intends to reach out to her. 

Nidra visits Kaikeyi again and tells her that her role in the fight of good versus evil is over, as it was her destiny to exile Rama and kickstart the battle in Bharat. She tells Kaikeyi that Rama has the god Vishnu inside him, a more powerful god than Agni. Nidra gives Kaikeyi visions of Rama and Lakshmana fighting against Ravana and Shatrugna planning to burn the camps of the Kekayan soldiers as they sleep, even though it’s against the law of the gods. She wakes in a cold sweat and leaves to stop the slaughter.

Kaikeyi arrives at the Kekayan camp and requests to speak to Yudhajit. He does not trust her, as he believes that Kaikeyi is still loyal to her sons and seeks to trick him. He leaves her in his tent, and Sarasvati appears to Kaikeyi, who asks her about Sita’s safety. The goddess confirms that the goddesses are watching over Sita, and they disagree with Rama’s treatment of her, though the gods do not much care about the rise and fall of mortals. 

When Yudhajit returns, Kaikeyi warns him that Shatrugna and Bharata plan to massacre his troops while they sleep, but he does not initially believe her. At her urging, he agrees to send scouts to look at the Kosala troops to see where they are and what is coming. Kaikeyi waits in the tent to see what will happen.

Kaikeyi wakes in the night to the smell of smoke. She realizes that the Kosala army is burning the Kekayan camp, just as she warned Yudhajit. When she runs to find Yudhajit, she finds him fighting with Shatrugna. Yudhajit tells her to run, but she tries to persuade Shatrugna to stop, reminding him that Yudhajit is his uncle. Bharata arrives, shouting at Shatrugna, and when Kaikeyi turns back to look, Shatrugna has stabbed Yudhajit in the chest. Kaikeyi runs to Yudhajit. She kisses his cheek, and he embraces her before he dies. Bharata knocks Shatrugna unconscious and apologizes to Kaikeyi, calling her “ma” again (458). He drags Kaikeyi away from Yudhajit’s body as the fire comes closer to them. She screams in grief and agony as they make it to safety.

Kaikeyi rides as fast as she can back to Ayodhya. She collapses, and women she once helped in the Women’s Council care for her and give her food, water, and lodging before she continues on her journey. When she arrives in the city, Manthara bathes her. She gets her dressed and takes her to the marketplace, showing her the truth of the change Kaikeyi brought to Kosala. Women work in the market, girls take lessons and become educated, and the women band together to improve their lives and advocate for themselves. When Bharata returns, he apologizes to Kaikeyi, who immediately forgives him. Bharata has decided to take the throne to bring stability to the realm. When Kaikeyi checks the Binding Plane, she realizes Bharata has managed to break free of Rama’s influence on his own. They reminisce about the past, and Bharata promises to listen to her going forward.

Kaikeyi stands at the Sarasvati River alone, having spent a few months visiting her living brothers in Kekaya alongside Bharata, who has traveled home first to tend to his duties as raja. They near the end of Rama’s 10 years of exile, and Kaikeyi has heard rumors he has changed and used his divine touch to free a woman turned to stone. He marches to the sea to prepare for the divine war against Ravana, who took Sita with him to Janasthana before readying to battle Rama. Kaikeyi knows Rama will win and later return to Kosala to rule, but she hopes the exile has made him the man she always wanted him to be. She also knows that though the changes she made to help women in Kosala and Kekaya are mortal and not of the gods, they are still important. She is at peace.