Dasaratha had been feeling ill for some time now since
he was getting older. He knew that he had been king for quite some time now and had done
many things while he had been king. Dasaratha had been pondering what to do for quite some time because he felt that it might be his time to step down and give
someone else the power to be king; he simply didn’t know what else he could do
while ruling the kingdom.
One day while he was talking to his son Rama, he had
asked him what he thought about being the king.
Rama ended up explaining to Dasaratha, “I would do my very best and
make you proud.”
Dasaratha pondered on that thought for many days
after that conversation and realized that it was time to step down from his
throne.
It was the middle of October and Dasaratha called
Kosala Council to order. Dasaratha muttered, “I have grown very old and frail,
and I have decided to step down from the throne. The last thing I have to do is
make my son Rama king, and that is if you, the Kosala Council, will approve of
this."
There were loud roars of celebration and glasses
clanking together. Dasaratha could tell that everyone was more than excited for
the idea of Rama to be king. The members of the council cheered, “Let us make the
ceremonies and the announcements! We are about to have a new king! Of everyone
Rama is going to be one of the very best kings that we have ever had."
Dasaratha was so pleased with the way that everyone had reacted. It really made him wonder if in fact they were not pleased
with the way that he was the king. However, he let that thought slip out of
his mind and he began to celebrate with the council that his son Rama was going
to be the new and upcoming king.
Dasaratha could not wait to tell his son.
Rama explained, “I will make
you a proud father I promise.” Rama went on to tell his mother Kausalya.
His mother explained, “You are going to be a wonderful king. It was time
that your father resigned because he is getting old and frail.”
Kausalya had been waiting and waiting for Dasaratha
to step down because she knew that keeping the name was a lot of work and it
was wearing on Dasaratha.
The day that Rama became king was a day that will
never be forgotten by the council and everyone involved. The entire town came to celebrate their new King Rama.
After the ceremony was a day filled with food and celebration. The town knew that
Rama was going to be a king who would not ever let them down. Dasaratha never
let them down, and they knew that Rama would do the exact same. The celebration
lasted until sunrise. There was dancing and drinks and food for everyone. It was truly a time of celebration for their
new king.
Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
Author's Note: I chose to write about Dasaratha naming Rama king because I was drawn in from the beginning. Dasaratha was getting old
and he had finally came to terms with the fact that it was time for him to step down. In this story I put my own little twists and
gave it my own edge but I mostly tried to stick to the plot about King Dasaratha
giving his title away to his son. I
really wanted to incorporate how Dasaratha was feeling during this time when he
was getting older and how he felt like he was truly getting too old to rule. I wanted
to show how proud Dasaratha was of his son and his accomplishments. I also
wanted to to show how proud he was that he could give away his title to someone
that he could trust the kingdom to. Dasaratha’s wife Kausalya was also pleased
because she realized that Dasaratha was getting frail and knew that he couldn’t take
being ruler much longer. The most
important part of my story was that the entire community was so proud that Rama
would be king. Naming Rama king was something that they were going to be
celebrating for a long time. With that being said, I really enjoyed this story
in Buck's Ramayana.
