Kaikeyi

While Rama and Lakshmana are gone, the rest of the family in Ayodhya hear wild rumors of their escapades at the ashram with Vishvamitra, rumors of Rama himself slaying rakshasas unaided. Dasharath brings the three radnyis to his room to discuss the potential marriages of their sons, who have all turned 17. He tells them that Raja Janaka of Videha is hosting a swayamvara for his daughter Sita, and he wants Rama in particular to compete so they can ally with Videha. Sita is lauded in the kingdom, as she was found buried in the earth as an infant, discovered before a plow could cut her in two. Rama and Lakshmana will meet them there. 

Kaikeyi and the other royals from Kosala are among the first to arrive in Videha. Janaka convinces Lord Shiva to give him a bow, the Shiva Dhanush, for the swayamvara. Only the one who can lift and shoot the bow may marry Sita. Kaikeyi runs into Sita on her way to the stables and talks with her, discovering that Sita too is gods-touched and the gods do not listen to her prayers. Kaikeyi advises Sita that she is not forsaken—there is a purpose to her life even if she does not yet know what it is. Sita admits that she was able to lift the bow Shiva gave her father—a bow made for a god. 

Rama and Lakshmana arrive the day before the swayamvara and have an emotional reunion with Kaikeyi, their other mothers, Dasharath, Bharata, and Shatrugna. Kaikeyi is shocked by how adult all their sons have become. On the day of the swayamvara, four servants bring out the Shiva Dhanush, which is the height of two men. Kaikeyi worries no one will be able to lift it. The suitors draw lots to see who will go first, and Rama must go last. The only suitor who is able to pick up the bow is Ravana, whose wife died two years prior. He struggles to string the bow, and Sita laughs at him. Rama easily picks up the bow, the halo of godliness appearing above his head again. He easily shoots and asks for Sita’s hand in marriage, and she agrees. 

Afterward, Kaikeyi visits Ravana to offer her condolences. She finds him crying, thinking that Sita’s laugh sounded so like his wife’s. He asks if Rama is a good boy, and Kaikeyi says he is. She tries to tell him there will be other women, and he becomes enraged, his eyes becoming like a rakshasa. Kaikeyi flees. 

Rama marries Sita, Lakshmana marries Sita’s younger sister Urmila, and Bharata and Shatrugna marry Sita’s cousins Mandavi and Shrutakirti. They host a joint wedding, and the celebrations are wonderful. Kaikeyi feels troubled when Sita comes to her room before a meeting of the Mantri Parishad. Sita, whom the gods have previously ignored, now hears from them in her dreams. First, the goddess Lakshmi tells her that she must support Rama, giving Sita a coin that she wakes with in her hand. She then dreams of Parvati, who reiterates that Rama needs her and that their heirs will rule the kingdom, giving Sita a lotus flower that she wakes holding. Kaikeyi assures Sita that Rama is a god, but as she is gods-touched, the gods cannot force her to do anything. 

Dasharath tells Kaikeyi that the raja of Janasthana, where Kaikeyi’s mother lives, died in a fire. At the Women’s Council, she hears news that there are frightening omens and a beast in the woods near Janasthana. Dasharath confirms that his messenger has heard that there is a force near Janasthana that plans to attack Ayodhya. Kaikeyi requests that he send her and Rama to investigate. Dasharath refuses to send Rama, and when Kaikeyi tries to use the Binding Plane to encourage him, his chest lights up blue and he becomes angry. He agrees to send her and Lakshmana to the edge of Kosala, but not all the way into Janasthana.

Kaikeyi tells the others in Ayodhya that she and Lakshmana are going to perform a ceremonial offering at a shrine. In reality, they are headed to Sripura to find information about Janasthana. Lakshmana has an encyclopedic memory that lets him remember important information about all of Kosala and Bharat. When discussing his time in the ashram, Lakshmana reveals that sage Vamadeva was there with them, which shocks and horrifies Kaikeyi, as he had two full years alone with her sons to fill their heads with misogynistic beliefs. When questioned, Lakshmana acts overly protective of Rama and his standing as the superior brother. When Kaikeyi enters the Binding Plane, she sees a bright blue cord extending from Lakshmana’s neck and realizes that Rama has ensnared Lakshmana. She tries to build up Lakshmana’s self-esteem, to remind him that all four of the boys are her sons and all four of them are important, not just Rama. Lakshmana does not seem to believe her, but she has six months on the road to change his mind. Kaikeyi also presses on the blue cord, trying to test the connection between Rama and Lakshmana, and it seems to agitate him.

As the journey continues, Kaikeyi and Lakshmana grow closer, and Lakshmana seems lighter the further he gets from Rama. The blue cord between them shrinks, and just as Kaikeyi begins to think if she can sever it, the world around them turns darker and a forest appears around them. They walk carefully, Lakshmana with his sword ready and Kaikeyi with a torch she lights with a piece of flint. The trees above them turn the color of flame, and a man petting the head of a white wolf appears before them, clearly a god. Kaikeyi recognizes him as Shishir, god of the winter and changing seasons. Shishir tells Kaikeyi that he is coming to Ayodhya to stop her from standing in the way of what the gods want, to stop her from bending nature. He touches Lakshmana, making his eyes turn blue. Shishir commands Lakshmana to attack Kaikeyi, but when she severs the blue bond from Lakshmana to Rama, Shishir can no longer control Lakshmana. Kaikeyi uses her torch to burn the forest around Shishir, who cannot put out her flame since she is gods-touched. She and Lakshmana run from the burning forest until Lakshmana collapses.

Kaikeyi takes Lakshmana to a healer in Sripura. He sleeps for three days, though the healer tells Kaikeyi he only has a common fever. Hirav, one of Dasharath’s soldiers, tells Kaikeyi that Janasthana has fallen to a rakshasa and its bloodthirsty armies. Kaikeyi feels horrified and confused, as it sounds as if the rakshasa was somehow coming from the north and south at the same time. She remembers Shishir and wonders if the gods are working with the rakshasa to destroy Ayodhya. As Lakshmana recovers and awakens, he realizes that his compulsory connection that caused his deference and blind loyalty to Rama is gone. He tells Kaikeyi that he still loves Rama, but now he feels free to finally critique Rama’s shortcomings—too worried about what people think about him and overly argumentative with Sita. Lakshmana says Rama is not ready to be king, and Kaikeyi agrees. 

As they continue on their journey, Kaikeyi wakes in the forest to see the rakshasa, which she realizes is actually an asura, a more powerful demon. He traps Kaikeyi in a circle of fire before she manages to escape. She feels weak and Lakshmana helps her make it to Janasthana. They search for Kekaya, Kaikeyi’s mother, whom they discover is a successful minister. Kaikeyi finds her mother and collapses into her arms.

Kaikeyi sleeps for a full day. When she wakes, her mother apologizes for being a bad mother when Kaikeyi was young, blaming her unhappiness at court. She asks Kaikeyi why she came and tells her that Ravana is now governor, as he arrived after the death of Janasthana’s raja and helped defend the city from the asura. Kaikeyi realizes they have little true information about what is going on in Janasthana. Kekaya tells Kaikeyi she has a new family and would like Kaikeyi to meet them. As Kaikeyi rests and recovers, she has the opportunity to grow closer with her mother and Lakshmana. She also meets Meena, her half-sister. Her mother finally tells her the truth of why she was banished: Kaikeyi’s father falsely accused Kekaya of infidelity, then set a trap for her to accidentally ask him what the birds told him, paranoid that she would try to kill him. Kekaya feels lighter now that she is able to share the truth with Kaikeyi.

Ravana arrives and apologizes for his behavior toward Kaikeyi after the swayamvara. He reveals that Sita is his daughter. The earth swallows her up when she was an infant playing in the grass, and Ravana was never able to recover her. He worries that Rama mistreats her, but Kaikeyi assures him the marriage is young, and it is simply a matter of poor communication between the couple. Ravana and Kaikeyi discuss the asura and its desire. Ravana believes he seeks to go to Ayodhya to challenge Rama. They search the library for scrolls about the asura. Lakshmana dreams of the scroll and finds it where he dreamt it. The scroll describes an asura named Bhandasura who was born from a fire that nearly destroyed Janasthana. After struggle and suffering, the sages prayed to Sarasvati to destroy the asura. She could not fully destroy it in her earthly form, so she trapped him in a grove deep in the forest. Now, Bhandasura has broken free, and the only thing that can destroy him is the spear of a woman.

Ravana and Kaikeyi hatch a plan to kill the asura. They go into the forest at noon and meet Bhandasura. He tries to attack Kaikeyi, but after a struggle she manages to pierce him with Ravana’s spear, though he claims she has played into his master’s hands. He summons magic animals to attack them. While Ravana fights off the evil creatures, Kaikeyi focuses on using the Binding Plane to sever the connections of each animal from Bhandasura. She succeeds, though she and Ravana are both injured. 

When Kaikeyi awakes, she speaks with Ravana. They spend a week recovering, playing chess together. He asks her to protect Sita and she agrees without knowing if protecting a mortal from a god is a promise she can keep. Ravana offers to fly her home in his completed flying machine, powered by swans that were a gift from the god Shiva, and she agrees. Before they depart, Kaikeyi speaks with Kekaya. She thanks her for the scroll with the story of Ahayla and Gautama—a reminder of the cruelty of the gods. Kekaya tells her it was not meant as a reminder of the gods’ cruelty, but of the cruelty of men. She then says she’s met Gautama, saying his full name for the first time: Vamadeva Gautama. Kaikeyi marvels that the sage training Rama against Kaikeyi’s wishes, is the one who turned his wife to stone. She resolves to return to Ayodhya and Ravana flies Kaikeyi and Lakshmana back to Sripura so they can journey home.