Learnings from the Ramayana: Ethics vs Duty
- Swami Vivekananda, Lectures from Colombo to Almora
The occasion of the re-establishment of the Sri Rama temple at the Shri Rama Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya on 22 January 2024 is a time to reflect on and learn from Sri Rama's life as depicted in Valmiki's Ramayana. The source of much of the content below is the two-volume publication of Srimad Valmiki Ramayanam by the Gita Press, Gorakhpur.
Ethics vs Duty: The slaying of the demoness Tataka
One of the first conflicts that Sri Rama faced was when the sage Viswamitra asked him to kill the demoness Tataka. One of the codes of conduct for a Kshatriya was not to kill a woman.
Tataka was a Yasksa woman, capable of assuming any form at will and possessing at the time of her birth the might of a thousand elephants. She conducted herself like a wicked woman and constantly ravaged the two principalities of Malada and Karusa. So Viswamitra’s guidance to Sri Rama was, “Relying on the might of your own arms, make short work of this ogress of wicked conduct.”
Anticipating that Sri Rama might have apprehensions of violating his Kshatriya code of conduct, Viswamitra says, “For the good of the cows and the Brahmanas, O Rama, get rid of this most cruel Yaksa woman of evil conduct and perverted valor. No man in all the three worlds, other than you, dare kill this woman, made formidable by a curse, O scion of Raghu!”
He then comes to the crux of the issue which Sri Rama was facing, “No disgust should be felt by you for the act of killing a woman, O jewel among men! For in the interest of the four grades of society even a cruel deed has in any case to be perpetrated by a Kshatriya prince as well as an act which is anything but cruel. For the protection of the people, even that which is sinful or wrong must invariably be done by one whose duty it is to protect. Such is the eternal duty of those charged with the onus of administration. Make short work of the impious woman, O scion of Kakustha; for there exists no righteousness in her.”
Viswamitra then proceeds to give examples of other women who were killed, such as Manthara, daughter of Virocana, who was killed by Indra; the wife of the sage Bhrigu and the mother of Sukracharya, who was killed by Vishnu. “Women devoted to adharma were killed by these as well as by many other high-souled Kshatriya princes, who were the foremost of men. Therefore, shaking off all tenderness, despatch her by my command, O protector of men.”
Canto 27 of the Balakanda continues the narrative:
Sri Rama replied with joint palms, “For the purpose of doing good to the cows and the Brahmanas, and in the interest of this region as well as in your interest, I am prepared to do your bidding, possessed ad you are of immeasurable glory.”
He then twanged his bow, which enraged the demoness and she rushed angily in the direction of the sound. On seeing her, Sri Rama said, “See how I put her to flight today once she has been deprived of her ears and the tip of her nose. I do not feel inclined to kill her, protected as she is by her womanhood. Let me put an end to her prowess as well to her power of motion - such indeed is my resolve.”
Even as Sri Rama was talking to Lakshmana, the demoness attacked them with a huge cloud of dust, and a shower of rocks. Parrying these with a counter-shower of arrows, Sri Rama cut off her arms even as she rushed towards him while Lakshmana deprived her of her ears and the tip of her nose.
However, the Yaksha woman, capable of taking any form at will, went out of sight and poured a terrible shower of rocks. Seeing this, Viswamitra said, “Have done with your tenderness, O Rama! This sinful Yaksha woman of wicked conduct, interfering as she does with sacrificial performances, should be got rid of even before she gains strength through her conjuring tricks. The twilight is approaching fast - in the evening the ogres are hard to overcome.”
Viswamitra's advise here is on the same lines as Sri Krishna's to Arjuna (Gita 2:3):
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप - Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O vanquisher of enemies.
Showing his skill at hitting a target with the help of the sound coming from it, Sri Rama hit her in the breast with a shaft as she came rushing like a thunderbolt, with the result that she fell down and expired.
Thus, in his very first battle, Sri Rama faced a conflict between ethics and duty and learned that as protector, his duty towards his subjects was paramount compared to his personal ethics. A similar conflict comes into play later when Sugriva asks Sri Rama for his help against his older brother Vali and much later when in the battle of Kurukshetra, Arjuna is faced with the conflict of fighting his cousins, teachers and friends or doing his duty as the leader of the Pandava army.
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