( from Valmiki's Ramayana ) Scene - Ashoka Vana in Ravanas Palace - Lanka.
Standing with folded hands, Hanuman suggested, "If you so desire, I
can kill all these hideous Rakshasa women who have tormented you for so
long. In fact, I would take great pleasure in avenging all the suffering
that you had to undergo. I simply await your permission."
By nature, Mother Sita was very kind to the downtrodden. So, she replied,
"They are only foolish maidservants who had to carry out the orders of the
Demon Ravana.
"Hanuman, perhaps you have heard this old adage that was once spoken
by a bear: 'A great man never takes into account the offenses that are
committed against him. Indeed, he vows that at all costs he will not return
evil with evil.'
The story goes like this (Vikramaditya "Simhasana-Dwathrimshika" ch.2):
There was a hunter being chased by a tiger, and so he climbed up
into a big tree. It so happened that there was a bear perched upon one of
the branches. Seeing this, the tiger said, "This hunter is our common enemy.
Therefore, you should push him out of the tree so that I can eat him."
The bear replied, "This hunter has taken shelter of my home, and so
I will not do anything to harm him. To act in such a way would be most
unrighteous." After saying this, the bear went to sleep.
The tiger then told the hunter, "If you push the bear out of the
tree so that I can eat him, I promise that I will not harm you."
Being swayed by the tiger's words, the hunter pushed the sleeping
bear. But, as he was falling, the bear managed to grab onto a branch and
save himself.
The tiger then said to the bear, "Because this hunter tried to kill
you, you should retaliate by pushing him out of the tree."
And yet, even though the tiger appealed to the bear in this manner,
again and again, he refused, saying, "A great person never takes into
account the sins of one who has offended him. Instead, at all costs, he
keeps his vow to never return evil for evil, because he knows that good
conduct is the ornament of virtuous persons." |
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