The news of alliance of naga princesses being fixed spreads like a wild fire and the sakhis of princesses break this news to them and the princesses Kumudvati and Kumudmali get curious to see their would be grooms so they , along with their sakhis, sneak into the gathering where Sita and her sons were seated with their brother Kumuda ; seeing the two princes who were an embodiment of radiance , the two brides to be blushed but their excitement was cut short saying which princess was to marry which prince?! The sakhis answered , the one who is a complexion of blue lotus , the one whose corner of his eyes are red like morning sun is Kusha, the eldest son of devi Sita , he is to marry, you Kumudavati and the one whose complexion is like molten gold, like that of his mother is the younger one Lava, he will marry you, Kumudamali! thus the sakhis giggled putting rest to the curiosity of princesses; all the giggling and the jingle of anklets drew attention of the guests , particularly the two princes and now it was their time to get curious!
Kumuda naga sensed the curiosity of the princes and he summoned the two princesses and introduced them to Sita, mother earth and the two princes , the princesses bend down to seek blessings of their to be mil and Sita received them warmly and blessed them by smelling their foreheads respectively. The two pairs of couples looked at each other through the corners of their eyes and blushed even more. The princesses quietly left the hall with the image of their respective grooms in their hearts and the princes closed their eyes to capture the image of their lovely brides.
The scene now shifts to the abode of mother earth Kusha and Lava have a long conversation with their mother and its Lava who initiates to tell their wish that both Ram and Sita should reconcile, the whole world knows that Sita was an embodiment of purity , what was there to prove? He said . There was silence all around. Sita became serious and looked away from the twins. Kusha then said, mother, we know you well , you've always had us and father in your heart and on your mind , same is with father, now time has come , you and father should be together and this is our resolution that unless we brothers reunite you both , nothing else will proceed further, we don't want wives, we don't want kingdom , nothing will please us but a smile on your moon like faces and seeing you both together , adorning the throne of Raghuvansha together like before! Lava replied in affirmative . Sita was in no mood to relent , not yet. What about my self respect?! She quipped and
changed their topic of discussion and asked her twins to go back to Ayodhya , the princes should not be roaming for long . "May victory be yours, children , go to your palace and make preparations to embrace a new phase in your lives" . She also prompted a messenger to ask Kumuda naga to send a formal invitation to Ayodhya , so the groom's side would be there for marriage.
Kusha and Lava kept looking at their mother with saddened faces , Lava said , we will leave mother , we know you're angry but your eyes have a different tale to tell. Bless us mother , we will see you soon .
Before the twins reached Ayodhya, the messengers of Kumuda naga had informed king Ram , very soon the courtiers and the whole city got know the good news, Ram and the whole family, guru Vadhishtha, were elated, yet they were sad and felt Sita's absence. The twins took everybody's blessings and wished to spend some time alone with their father.
Father, we met mother ! said Lav , with great enthusiasm.. Ram's face lit up, what?! He said with surprise , how is my Sita , how is she , is she still angry with me? Did she ask how I was? She must have grown very lean ..its been so many years oh and his eyes were full of tears..
Father you know mother so well, she indeed is angry but you know she loves you so much , why don't you meet her? Said Kusha with unusual frankness, he had never been so casual with his father.
Ram sensed the inner thoughts of his children .. he became silent ; let's start with preparations for marriage, there are invitations to be sent , your mother is angry with me , only if she knows my dilemma , perhaps she knows.. oh Sita! Ram was speaking to himself ; the twins left quietly.
Very soon the palace and the city beamed with exuberance, there was excitement all around , an auspicious day and time were set and the grooms and their family were all eager to get the brides. All the invited guests had arrived. Amongst all this festivities Ram , even though was surrounded by his dear ones, he was still alone, he felt hollow and every time he looked at his twins, their question haunted him.
The wedding!!
On their day, the grooms looked their best , like kamadeva had descended to earth and divided himself into two forms. The wedding procession left the palace amidst the blessings of gurus and elders , they reached the brides place in no time , all the guests and grooms were humbly received by Kumuda naga. The brides were already at the altar waiting , the priests initiated the rituals and Kumuda naga gave away the hands of his sisters to the twins respectively; the grooms and brides revolved around the sacred fire thrice and the grooms filled their foreheads with vermilion, with that the brides looked like Lakshmi herself and thus solemnised in sacred marriage . The sons of Sita and Ram were now complete. Ram blessed the brides and gave them gem studded bangles and he asked his twins, "What is it you desire , children? Ask
Kush and Lav's eyes widened , they looked at each other and smiled and they said in unison " Our mother" , we want to see you and mother Sita adorning the throne once again, father! Everybody was stunned and silence prevailed. Guru Vashishtha approached Ram and said, son you should do the needful, I know how much you have missed Sita, you know she is innocent ,why should either of you suffer? You both have suffered enough , I am sure , now even the citizens of Ayodhya will have no objection. The citizens felt ashamed , with heads down , they apologised profusely and requested Ram to get back their queen , their mother Sita ..
Take me to Sita , he said , the twins were ready and soon Ram and Sita were in front of each other , they kept looking at each other, with eyes full of tears, they were speaking to each other in their minds , time had stopped! My Sita ! Ram said, Oh Raghav she said and approached Ram and they hugged each other . My Sita , I am sorry, I never doubted your innocence but i behaved more like a king and not like a husband , there was not a moment that i didn't remember you, you have always been in my thoughts, Sita . You have not done anything wrong Raghav , you did what you should have done and she started sobbing even more and again hugged him and they bathed in each other's tears. When they both poured out their hearts , they felt better and Sita blessed her sons and hugged them as well. She asked how are the queen mothers? There was a gloom on the faces of Ram and the twins. Ram said, they had left for heavenly abode few years ago , Sita regretted that she was not there at their last moments and felt sad , the twins cheered her up and asked, you wouldn't want to meet you daughter in laws ?
Ram said, lets go Sita, your twins are very eager to meet their brides and the twins blushed and were surprised that it was the first time their father had pulled a joke on them and that he had smiled genuinely.
The happy family now were back to marriage hall , the citizens of ayodhya fell at Sita's feet and washed them with their tears , as usual Sita forgave them and proceeded to meet her sisters, and son like brother in laws ,they were overwhelmed and thanked the twins for their wonderful effort , the brides then approached to pay their obeisance, Sita blessed them and hugged them tightly , after all the formalities, tthe grooms and Sita along with Ram paid their respects to mother earth , who blessed them and bid them farewell .
The whole of Ayodhya was decorated like a bride and welcomed the twins and their brides and most importantly the queen mother who had been wronged. Arrangements were made and sacred waters were brought in for coronation once again, after the brides were welcomed, Ram and Sita were back on throne flanked by sons , brothers and rishis along with the gurus , two eyes were not enough to catch the splendour of the assembly. Sita and Ram and the twins had begun a new life!
Next part : Its a daughter!!
PS: The story is reconstructed from Ramkien and Raemker with inputs from Ananda Ramayana, which is attributed to Bhagvan Valmiki
Today, I got to know how difficult it is to write SS, OS, TS or any fictional series , I have not commented personally in any of the threads, so this story is for the wonderful writers in this forum. Thank you all
