Kaikeyi

Patel uses the Blue Thread that appears in the Binding Plane when someone is under Rama’s influence or control to symbolize the nefarious aspects of Rama’s godhood, underscoring the novel’s thematic interest in Destiny Versus Autonomy. Kaikeyi does not discover the truth of Rama’s influence or the extent of his control until she and Lakshmana journey to Janasthana. When she enters the Binding Plane, she sees it coming from Lakshmana’s neck: “[A] blue cord, so bright it almost hurt[s] to look at. [Kaikeyi has] never seen such a thing before” (299). While Kaikeyi and Yudhajit’s bond in the Binding Plane is blue, but it’s not painful to look at like Rama’s threads are. Rama’s bonds stem from people’s necks, not from the torso like the other bonds Kaikeyi sees in the Binding Plane. Patel’s choice to stem Rama’s bonds from the necks of those in his thrall defines them as “a yoke, not a relationship” (305). Unlike Kaikeyi’s bonds that represent her relationships that she carefully maintains, relationships she can subtly manipulate using the Binding Plane, Rama’s bonds are created by his ability to control those around him. This manipulation becomes especially apparent after Kaikeyi demands her boons from Dasharath. When she tells Dasharath Rama is not ready for the throne, “Horror etche[s] itself in the planes of Dasharath’s face, and the thickest blue chain [she has] ever seen choke[s] him in the Binding Plane” (400). At even the merest suggestion of a decision against Rama’s will, the Blue Thread chokes Dasharath violently. Dasharath is so deeply under Rama’s control, control that it exerts itself violently, preventing him from breaking free. He later dies after fulfilling Kaikeyi’s boons, indicating the intensity of the adverse effects of Rama’s power.