Was Meghnad caught stealing in the palace of Ayodhya?
Saints in their stories recount an incident involving Meghnath’s arrival in Ayodhya and his capture by Lakshmana. This incident is likely based on a couplet written by Tulsi Baba. Today, we will try to present that incident to you.
When Lakshmana fell unconscious after being struck by Meghnad’s Shakti during the battle of Lanka, Lord Shri Ram mourned his brother’s suffering. In his lamentation, he recalled an incident from his childhood when Lakshmana had captured Meghnad.
Lord Shri Ram, emotionally lamenting, says that if he had not obeyed his father’s words that day, he would not have reached this state today. Tulsidas wrote a couplet describing the Lord’s pain:
Lord Shri Ram, who went into exile to honor his father’s word, is expressing his sorrow for not obeying his father’s word. There is a story behind this; enjoy it.
Once, while worshipping Lord Shiva on the seashore, Ravana saw a lotus petal floating from somewhere. The petal was incomparably beautiful. Ravana had never seen such a beautiful lotus petal.
Seeing it, he wondered how beautiful the lotus flower of which the petal was a part would be. If only he could find the entire lotus flower, he would offer it to his beloved Lord Bholenath and please him.
Ravana sat there, thinking this. When Ravana did not return on time after the puja, Mandodari became worried. She sent her son Meghnad to search for his father.
Meghnad noticed his father staring intently at a petal floating in the water. His mind was unmoving, calm, but also somewhat worried. He asked his father the reason for this state of mind, and he learned the full story and Ravana’s desire.
To appease his father, Meghnad said, “Father, don’t worry. I will find this petal wherever it grows in the three worlds and bring it back. You must offer it to Lord Shiva.”
After paying obeisance to Ravana, Meghnad immediately donned a magical disguise and began searching for the flower on Earth, traversing the heavens and underworld, all the worlds. Then he spotted similar petals floating in the Sarayu River.
Searching for them, Meghnad reached the pond in the garden of Ayodhya, the source of those wondrous, incomparable lotus flowers. Seeing the pond filled with them, Meghnad’s joy knew no bounds.
Without delay, he began plucking flowers. Suddenly, seeing a stranger plucking flowers in King Dasharatha’s garden, the guards alerted Shri Ram, Lakshman, and others playing nearby. They immediately came and apprehended Meghnad.
Lakshman wanted to kill Meghnad on the spot for entering the garden and stealing, but Shri Ram said, “The king has the right to decide the punishment. Father, let’s take him to the king. Whatever punishment he decides, he will be given.”
They tied up Meghnad and took him to King Dasharatha. After his introduction, Dasharatha learned the entire story and the reason for stealing the flower.
Then he said, “No doubt, he committed a crime by entering the garden without permission, but he was out of devotion to his father, and that is why he committed this audacity. Don’t take his life when he is out to serve his father. Give him the flower and let him go.”
When Meghnad created a critical situation by attacking Lakshmana with his Shakti during the Lanka war, Ram started remembering his brother while lamenting his grief.
Remembering his father’s orders with a heavy heart, Shri Ram said that if he had known that this Meghnad would endanger the life of his brother Lakshmana, he would not have listened to his father’s words at that time and would have allowed Lakshmana to take his life.
