Shri Rama tales: Know who was responsible for poisoning Kaikeyi’s mind

Shikha Swaroop as Kaikeyi and Sunita Rajwar as Manthara in Zee TV's 'Ramayan'. Pic for representation purpose only.

Mumbai: Ramayana – one of the finest Indian epics – teaches humanity the fundamental values of life by narrating the life of Shri Rama.

Those who closely follow the Ramayana can find answers to their questions. The depiction of each of the characters has some message or the other to give.

In this post, we will discuss Manthara dasi, who played a pivotal role in destroying the beautiful bond between Kaikeyi and King Dasharatha.

Here’s how the episode unfolds:

King Dasharatha and his three queens – Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi – lived blissfully in their palace in Ayodhya. The only grief the royals had was that they did not have a successor. The palace was desperately in need of a young prince.

By the grace of the almighty, the king and his three queens were blessed with sons – Kaushalya gave birth to Rama; Sumitra to Lakshmana and Shatrughna; Kaikeyi to Bharata.

The three queens loved Rama the most because he was the eldest son of their king and the palace’s first newborn.

There was happiness until Kaikeyi’s maid Manthara started poisoning her mind. Manthara, the humpbacked notorious woman instigated Kaikeyi to fight for her son Bharata’s rights. The cunning maid wanted to see Kaikeyi’s son succeeding Dasharatha to the throne of Ayodhya.

Initially, Kaikeyi showed great resistance to Manthara’s manipulative words and dared her not to corrupt her mind. However, after failing a number of times in her relentless efforts, Manthara was eventually successful in implementing her plan.

Kaikeyi lost all sense of right and wrong by giving in to the pressure put by Manthara’s constant manipulation. The maid reminded her of Dasharatha’s boons that his youngest queen hadn’t made use of.

The moment Kaikeyi believed Manthara’s words were gospel truth, she decided to confront her husband by reminding him of the promises he had made after she had saved his life during a celestial battle by braving powerful enemies.

Thus, Dasharatha was compelled to send Rama to the forests for fourteen years and announce Bharat as his successor. Manthara succeeded in her destructive mission that subsequently led to Dasharatha’s death due to grief over Rama’s exile.