Editing Ramayana (section)

===''Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa''===
[[File: Rama leaving for fourteen years of exile from Ayodhya.jpg|thumb|{{center|Rama leaving for fourteen years of exile from Ayodhya}}]]

After Rāma and Sītā have been married, an elderly Daśaratha expresses his desire to crown Rāma, to which the Kosala assembly and his subjects express their support. On the eve of the great event, Kaikeyī was happy regarding this, but was later on provoked by [[Manthara|Mantharā]], a wicked maidservant, to claim two boons that Daśaratha had granted to her. Kaikeyī demands [[Exile of Lord Rama|Rāma to be exiled into the wilderness for fourteen years]], while the succession passes to her son Bharata.

The grief-stricken king, bound by his word, accedes to Kaikeyī's demands. Rāma accepts his father's reluctant decree with absolute submission and calm self-control which characterizes him throughout the story. He asks Sītā to remain in Ayodhyā, but she convinces him to take her with him into exile. Lakṣmaṇa also resolves to follow his brother into the forest.

After Rāma's departure, King Daśaratha, unable to bear the grief, passes away. Meanwhile, Bharata, who was on a visit to his maternal uncle, learns about the events in Ayodhyā. He is shocked and refuses to profit from his mother's wicked scheming. He visits Rāma in the forest and implores him to return to Ayodhyā and claim the throne that is rightfully his. But Rāma, determined to carry out his father's orders to the letter, refuses to return before the period of exile. Bharata reluctantly returns to Ayodhyā and rules the kingdom on behalf of his brother.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Valmiki Ramayana - Ayodhya Kanda - Sarga 40 |url=https://sanskritdocuments.org/sites/valmikiramayan/ayodhya/sarga40/ayodhyaroman40.htm |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=sanskritdocuments.org}}</ref>