Vashishtha (Saaphri Part 7)

कृथा मैवं चेतः कथमपि मनागस्खलदितः
प्रमादाद्वाणीयं किमिह करवाणि प्रणयिनी।
वृथैवायं ग्रन्थिरझणझणीतमंजीररणितं
ततस्त्वत्दापाब्जं यदिदंवतंसो भवतु मे। (नरसिंह )

(Darling, don’t take it to your heart
I couldn’t control my tongue in haste
It’s not wise to nurture malaise.
These tinkling anklet bells
Ornamenting your lotus feet,
Let them be my earrings. )
Vashishtha knew Ram very well. Prince Ram was not a man to waste time in luxuries or sundry topics for amusement. Vashishtha was a bit apprehensive when he received Ram’s request for a meeting. He thought hard about it but could not guess a reason that brought the prince at his doorstep. Old priest was well aware of the palace politics and by then had firmly put his weight behind Kaikeyee. A dependent prince like Bharat was a sure guarantee of success for a powerful priest and later for his younger son Shakti. Like Dasaratha, Vashishtha was also not sure whether he would be comfortable with an independent and confident king like Ram.