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“The Last Acts of Rama” Bhavabhuti in summary

The play in verse and prose, based on the contents of the last book “Ramayana”

After freeing Sita from imprisonment in Lanka and killing her kidnapper of the demon king Ravana, Rama and his wife return to Ayodhya, where the days of their life are now serene and happy. On one of these days, Sita and Rama inspect the picture gallery, on many canvases of which their former destiny is imprinted. The sad events of the past alternate in pictures with joyful ones, tears in the eyes of the spouses are replaced by a smile, while Sita, tired of the worries that have been experienced again, does not fall asleep in the hands of the moved Rama. And just at that moment the royal servant of Durmukh appears, who informs about the discontent among the people, who blames Rama for taking back his wife, who stained her honor with being in the house of the demon king. The duty of a loving spouse, confident in the purity and faithfulness of the Sith, requires Rama to despise false suspicions,

but the duty of the sovereign, the ideal of which is Rama, commands him to expel Sita, which aroused the murmurings of the subjects. And Rama – as it is bitter to him – is forced to order his brother Lakshmana to take Sita to the forest.

Twelve years pass. From the story of the forest nymph Vasanti we learn that Sita went into exile pregnant and soon gave birth to two twins Kushu and Lava, who were brought up in his abode by the sage Valmiki; that she was taken under her protection of the goddess of the Earth and the Ganges River, and river and forest nymphs became her friends; and that, for all that, she is constantly tormented by resentment of Rama, and longing for him. Meanwhile, Rama comes to the forest of Dandaku, where Sita lives, in order to punish a certain apostate who could have served as a bad example. The surroundings of Dandaki are familiar to him from an old exile in the forest with Sita and awaken from him painful memories. The distant mountains seem to be the same as before, from which, as then, the parrots scream; all the same overgrown with bush hills, where fastidious deer leap;

just as softly whisper something whispering rustling reeds of the riverbank. But before that Sita was near him, and the tsar sadly notices that not only his life has grown dull, the river has already dried up the river bed, the lush trees have grown thin, birds and animals look fearful and watchful. Rama pours out his sorrow in bitter mourning, which Sita, who is invisible to him, hears, bending over Rama. She is convinced that Rama, like herself, suffers terribly, only by touching her hand, rescues him twice from a deep fainting, and gradually indignation is replaced by her pity, insult – with love. Even before the coming reconciliation with Rama, she admits to herself that the “sting of shameful expulsion” is torn from her heart. that not only his life dimmed – the run of time had already dried up the river bed, the lush trees crowned, the birds and animals looked fearful and watchful. Rama pours out his sorrow in bitter mourning, which Sita, who is invisible to him, hears, bending over Rama. She is convinced that Rama, like herself, suffers terribly, only by touching her hand, rescues him twice from a deep fainting, and gradually indignation is replaced by her pity, insult – with love. Even before the coming reconciliation with Rama, she admits to herself that the “sting of shameful expulsion” is torn from her heart. that not only his life dimmed – the run of time had already dried up the river bed, the lush trees crowned, the birds and animals looked fearful and watchful. Rama pours out his sorrow in bitter mourning, which Sita, who is invisible to him, hears, bending over Rama. She is convinced that Rama, like herself, suffers terribly, only by touching her hand, rescues him twice from a deep fainting, and gradually indignation is replaced by her pity, insult – with love. Even before the coming reconciliation with Rama, she admits to herself that the “sting of shameful expulsion” is torn from her heart. He suffers heavily, only by touching his hand he rescues him twice from a deep fainting, and gradually indignation is replaced by her pity, insult – love. Even before the coming reconciliation with Rama, she admits to herself that the “sting of shameful expulsion” is torn from her heart. He suffers heavily, only by touching his hand he rescues him twice from a deep fainting, and gradually indignation is replaced by her pity, insult – love. Even before the coming reconciliation with Rama, she admits to herself that the “sting of shameful expulsion” is torn from her heart.

After a while, the hermit’s father, Sita Janaka and mother of Rama Kausalya, meet a boy who is remarkably similar to Sita. This boy is really one of the sons of Sita and Rama – Lava. Following Lava, the son of Lakshmana Chandraketu appears, accompanying the sacred horse, which, according to the custom of the royal sacrifice, Asvamedhi, must wander throughout the year, wherever he thinks, indicating the boundaries of the royal possessions. Lava defiantly tries to block the path of the horse, and Chandraketu, although experiencing an unconscious relative sympathy for the stranger, enters into a duel with him. The match is interrupted by a nearby Rama. In excitement, Rama looks at Lava’s features, reminding him of Sita and himself in his youth. He asks him who he is, where he came from and who his mother is, and Lava takes Rama away to Valmiki’s abode, so that he can answer all his questions.

Valmiki proposes to Rama, as well as Lakshmana, the relatives of Rama and his subjects to see the play he composed about the life of Rama. Roles in it are played by gods and demigods, and in the course of the play, in which the past is constantly intertwined with the present, the innocence and purity of Sita, the loyalty of Rama to the royal and conjugal duty, the depth and inviolability of their mutual love are immutably affirmed. Convinced by the divine representation, the people enthusiastically praise Sita, and finally her complete and final reconciliation with Rama takes place.

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“The Last Acts of Rama” Bhavabhuti in summary

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