This cartoon depicts an important event in Ramayana-Laxman Rekha. This line was drawn by Laxman, around the dwelling which he shared with Rama and Sita in Panchvati, in the forest of Dandakaranya, Nashik city.
When Sita sees a beautiful golden deer wandering in the forest, she insists Ram to catch it for her. Although Ram tells her that it may be a demon in disguise, upon her insistence, Ram chases it into the forests. But before he leaves, he instructs Lakshman to take care of Sita and not to leave her in any situation.
Ram had been gone for a long time when suddenly Sita, hears screams of Ram calling out ‘Sita’ and ‘Lakshman’s’ name to protect him. This was actually a trap by Marich, who was disguised as golden deer. Sita asks Lakshman to go and search for his brother, Ram. Lakshman does not want to leave Sita alone but seeing her grief, he agrees on one condition. He draws a line around the cottage and insists that Sita should not cross that line in any condition.
Lakshman Rekha, the protective line represented his yogic energy which prohibited the entry of any person other than Ram, Sita, and Lakshman inside that line. Once Lakshman leaves in search, Ravan comes disguised as a sage and asks Sita for alms. He tricks Sita to come out of the line, which he cannot cross, and then he kidnaps her.
In today’s context, for me, it means to follow the Lakshman Rekha of social distancing and following the guidelines of Government for our safety as well of our society. Failure to do so will lead to undesirable consequences of an increase in Corona positive cases, and transition from stage 2 to stage 3 transmission.
(Yo Zindagi is a campaign to promote Mental Health & Emotional Maturity by engaging individuals in conversations and workshops. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The article is written by Priya Shukla who is providing online counseling as a part of the Mental Health Internship Program)