A human faces the first challenges of life right from the family, wherein every individual grows in a different personality and thinking, but still be together which helps the family to grow in the society. Ramayan is all about these family virtues. When a good family is together, an evil minded person like Manthara tries to break the bond in order to create chaos in the family, but when the family stands united like Shri Ram and his brothers, then, no Manthara has a chance.
As much as humility and compassion are to be nurtured, ego and superiority complex are to be kept away. In the palace of Ayodhya, where the family is known for their humility and compassion, so was Manthara, the favourite maid of queen Kaikeyi known for her ego and self-centred nature. She takes unfair advantage of being the queen’s maid and schemes to divide the family. She sows seeds of greed and selfishness in Queen Kaikeyi’s mind by sending the elder brother to exile and crowning the younger brother the king which would create a permanent rift in the family in the name of inheritance.
But Manthara’s schemes are in for a surprise when without any complaints and rebellion, Shri Ram leaves to the forest. She expects a rebel and a fight from Shri Ram, but Shri Ram proves her all wrong. When a family is bounded by true love and affection, no evil scheme can break it. Shri Ram bound by the love and responsibility of fulfilling his father’s word leaves to the forest. However it is not with hatred on Bharat, but with pure love towards him, thus never giving Manthara a chance to break the family. The devoted Lakshman follows the footsteps of Shri Ram and makes the bond of the brothers even more strong. Here, Shri Ram indirectly fulfilled Mantahra’s wish , but did not let her break the family, thus standing as a wall preventing the bad vibes touch his family.
While the calmness of Shri Ram surprises Manthara, another surprise comes to her in form of Bharat when he returns back to Ayodhya. Contrary to the expectations of Manthara, instead of getting ready to be crowned king, Bharat disowns his mother for her cruel intentions. Bharat teaches that when an outsider with an evil intention should never be welcome in the family. A family strong in virtues does not influenced by thoughts like Manthara, but understands and differentiates between good and bad like Bharat.
Shatrughan puts a final finish by punishing Manthara and getting ready to slay her. But Bharat intervenes and stops him from doing so by saying that Shri Ram would disown them both for punishing a woman. Even in times of adversity, the brothers very well understand Shri Ram’s beliefs and give his virtues higher priority than punishing Manthara. This shows how small is Manthara’s scheme to break their infinite bond of love and affection. A family united in action, thought and heart is a family united in all times.
While striking balance of good, there is always a lurking of the bad. But, the wise ones do not get influenced but differentiate and keep the bad away just like Shri Ram and his brothers where Manthara does not stand a chance of domination.