Oh Rama! Forgive him for he knows not what he says.

One more month has passed the attack on Rama does not seem to have been stopped. The theme continues. For this Rajaji, Valmiki now even Tulsidas is brought for support. The product is a mix of half-truth with half-baked truth. What is the product? TOTAL LIE. Mr. Karunanidhi may not have gone to any spiritual or moral science school to understand the simple equation: Half Truth + Half Baked Truth = Total Lie. It becomes incumbent upon the believers to counter this however painful to even think of the epithet hurled at Rama that he was a drunkard. Through this column we had implored Mr. Karunanidhi and his cohorts to search for Rama within oneself after removing the veil of hypocrisy but alas! they do not seem to listen. They have gone in search of Rama to Alcholics anonymous. Before we get into that a look at a recent event which would give us an insight into the character of Rama which we had not discussed here before.

Mr. Krishnaswamy, President of TNCC was recently attacked by some miscreants and he was grievously injured. He is recovering in a hospital ruminating over the way he providentially escaped the murderous attack to live to tell the story. He did tell his story to Mr. Karunanidhi. It is reported that he has recounted his thrilling experience of the locket of Rama Pattabhisheka worn by him saving his life. This trait of Rama of protecting of all those who believe in him is declared expressly by him in Ramayana at the time of the episode of Vibhishana Saranagati. He calls up the vanaras to bring Vibhishana seeking refuge for granting asylum thus:

सकृदेव प्रपन्नाय तव अस्मि इति च याचते।
अभयम् सर्व भूतेभ्यो ददामि एतद् व्रतम् मम॥
आनय एनम् हरि श्रेष्ठ दत्तम् अस्य अभयम् मया।
विभीषणो वा सुग्रीव यदि वा रावणः स्वयम्॥

“He who seeks refuge in the spirit of ‘I am yours’, I shall give him assurance of safety amongst all beings. This is my solemn pledge. Hence O great among monkeys, Sugriva, bring Vibhishina or even if it is Ravana himself since I have granted refuge”
For reaching this conclusion Rama displays one of his many sterling qualities of practising good traits with conviction based on ratiocination. He brings to bear many arguments to be benevolent to all those who seek refuge in him without even looking at their motives etc. Mr. Krishnaswamy's political compulsions may prevent him from speaking out openly on the side of Rama but Rama has no such compulsions not to save him since Mr. Krishnaswamy believes in him and has sought refuge in him. There are lessons for the Indian nation-state on how to handle the Dalai Lama and Taslima Nasreen issues. Rama in this episode starts by displaying extraordinary confidence in his prowess or in the prowess of Dharma of which he is the embodiment by telling him that nobody can harm him (Rama) whether he is good or bad and that he (Rama) can destroy “devilish beings, demons, supernatural beings and ogres living on earth with just a tip” of his finger. But then why should he grant refuge to Vibhishana. He recalls the episode of a dove giving protection to a fowler which killed its wife and after giving protection gave its body as feast for the fowler and quips “How much more a man like me can do?” He quotes Kandu son of the great sage Kanva to press his point of granting asylum: “An enemy who comes for protection against others, even if the aforesaid enemy is oppressed or arrogant, is to be protected by one who has a disciplined mind, even by abandoning one’s life.”“If he does not protect rightly through his strength, by fear or by ignorance or by desire, it is a sin to be reproached by the world.”“If having not been protected, a refugee dies before the eyes of a man who is able to protect him, the former takes along all his moral merit and goes.”“In not protecting thus the persons who take refuge, there is a great blemish involved in it. It does not bestow heaven. It destroys reputation. It devastates strength and valor”. These prove the words of Mareecha's advice to Ravana where he called upon him to make friendship with Rama and we once again implore Mr. Karunanidhi to ask for the indulgence of Rama who is oath-bound to protect all those who seek refuge in him.

Coming to the epithet 'Rama was a drunkard', Ram-bhakts were waiting for a reference on the basis of which such charge was made. Initially the minions of Mr. Karunanidhi such as Ponmudi and Kanimozhi said that the reference to somapana and surapana taken by the Kings in those days. Rummaging Valmiki and Kamba Ramayana no reference could be found. Ultimately in a recent interview Mr. Karunanidhi, himself has given reference to the following sloka in Sundara Kanda

न मांसं राघवो भुंक्ते न चापि मधु सेवते।
वन्यं सुविहितम् नित्यं भक्तमश्नाति पञ्चमम्॥

Let us look at the textual meaning of this sloka. "Rama is not eating meat, nor indulging even in Madhu. Everyday, in the evening, he is eating the food existing in the forest, well arranged for him." What does Madhu mean: Madhu in Sanskrit is used in different contexts with different meanings – ranging from honey, to a mere sweet, sugar to the spiritious liquor. If we look at Kamba Ramayanam the following two poems give a clue:

'இருத்தி ஈண்டு' என்னலோடும்
இருந்திலன்; எல்லை நீத்த
அருத்தியன், தேனும் மீனும்
அமுதினுக்கு அமைவது ஆகத்
திருஉளம்? என்ன வீரன்
விருத்த மாதவரை நோக்கி முறுவலன்,
விளம்பலுற்றான்.

தவத்தோர் உண்ணத்தகாத தேனையும் மீனையும் அன்போடு குகன் கொடுக்கின்றான். அருகே முனிவர்கள் இராமன் என் செய்வானோ என்று கருதும் அக்குறிப்பு உடையவராக ஆயினமை கன்டு, அவர்களுக்கும் குகனது அன்பின் பெருக்கை உணர்ந்துமுகத்தான்.

Guhan gave honey and fish, which the ascestic do not eat. When all the rishis were looking at Rama to know what he would do Rama understood the love of Guha and took the present and smelt the offering.

அரிய, தாம் உவப்ப, உள்ளத்து
அன்பினால் அமைந்த காதல்
தெரிதரக் கொணர்ந்த என்றால்
அமிழ்தினும் சீர்த்த அன்றே?
பரிவினின் தழீஇய என்னின்
பவித்ரம்; எம்மனோர்க்கும்
உரியன; இனிதின் நாமும்
உண்டனெம் அன்றோ என்றான்.

கையுறை பொருள்கள் யாதாயினும் கிடைத்தற்கரியதாக கொண்ர்வார்தம் மகிழ்ச்சிக்குரியதாக இருப்பினும் அன்பின் முதிர்வால் பக்தி புலப்பட அளிக்க பெறுமானால் அவை அமுதினும் மேலானவை. தூய்மையும் தூய்மையின்மையும் அன்பினைப் பொறுத்ததே ஆகும். அன்தினால் குகன் கொடுத்த பொருள்கள் தவத்தோர்க்காகாத தேனுமீனும் ஆயினும் அன்பு கலத்தாலால் தூய்மையுடையதாய் ஏற்றுக்கொளற்பாலவேயாகும் - என்றான் இராமன். முனிவர்களையும் நிறைவு செய்து குகனையும் முழுமையான மனநிறைவுக்கு உரியவனாக ஆகும் வகையில் இராமனது உரை அமைந்தது அறிந்து இன்புறுதற்குரியது. வாயால் உண்பதைவிட மனத்தால் ஏற்றுகோடல் அன்புடையாரிடத்து உயர்ந்துவிடுகிறது.

Whatever the offerings, if it is made with love the offerings become greater than nectar. Purity and impurity is related to love alone. Honey and fish given by Guha are mixed with love and hence these have become pure and they are to be accepted.
This episode gives hint of two things – one there was a custom of taking honey with non-vegetarian food. Hence it could be premised that the मधु in this sloka could only be honey. The second interpretation is that it was the custom of all those who met Rama to offer their staple food out of affection. It is abundantly written at various places that vanaras had a taste for liquor and hence the refusal of Rama to even accept them as he did in the case of Guha in view of his sorrow mental state was narrated by Hanuman at this place.

Much more preposterous is the claim of Rama being a drunkard based on a sloka where his refusal to take (even for argument) liquor is highlighted. How does this fit in? Let us take a hypothetical conversation between a foreign correspondent and an industrialist belonging to Tamilnadu.

Correspondent: How is governance in Tamil nadu, now that there is a minority government in Tamilnadu and one of its allies is bent on pillorying this government for anything and everything?

Industrialist: Here is a Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu bent on bringing back his party with full majority – is neither 'delaying projects' nor 'demanding anything' for that.
If 'delaying projects' is a simile for Non-Vegetarian stuff and 'demanding anything' is a simile for Liquor, Could this answer be interpreted as the Chief Minister being Corrupt? (Corruption is the simile for addiction to liquor).