Vishwamitra walked ahead and the princes of Ayodhya, Shri Ram and Lakshman, followed him. They carried their bows on the shoulders, quiver of arrows on their back and swords on their waist.

The journey to Vishwamitra's ashram, Siddhashram involved a 4 day trek, crossing many forests. Although the princes had grown up amidst comforts and luxuries of royalty, they did not complain. They were very well trained by Vasisth in following the decorum and protocols of living with a guru.

When they reached the southern bank of Sarayu river, about a yojan and half outside of Ayodhya, Vishwamitra halted and asked Shri Ram and Lakshman to sip some water from the holy river and get ready to imbibe the knowledge of Balaa Atibalaa vidya.

This vidya was meant to make them immune to hunger, thirst, sleep and fatigue and also give them immense strength and wisdom. This was a mantra anushthaan which could only be taken under the guidance of a capable Guru.

The mantras would ensure that Shri Ram and Lakshman would never be overpowered by their enemies even when asleep or unaware.

"Iss prithvi par koi bhi shakti ya gyaan mei tumhare anuroop nahi hoga. Na bhook na trishna, kabhi tumhe kasht degi. Hey Ram ! Hey Lakshman ! Mujhse iss Balaa Atibalaa vidya ko grahan karo, jo sabhi gyaan ki Mata kahi jaati hai." Vishwamitra said.

And then Vishwamitra began giving this rare knowledge to both the princes. The three of them spent that night by the banks of Sarayu. Shri Ram and Lakshman slept on the grass under the open sky filled with stars.

Vishwamitra was treating them with a lot of affection and they reciprocated with respect and obedience. At dawn the Brahmarishi with pleasant tone of voice used to wake Shri Ram up.

"कौसल्या सुप्रजा राम पूर्वा संध्या प्रवर्तते ।
उत्तिष्ठ नरशार्दूल कर्तव्यं दैवमाह्निकम्॥" Vishwamitra uttered to wake him up.
(O Ram, obtaining a son like you, Kaushalya is considered the fortunate one. Wake up, O lion among men, it is the break of dawn. May you get your morning prayers and rituals done.)

The three of them continued their journey. On the second evening they halted in an ashram in Angadesh by the confluence of Sarayu and Ganga.

On the third morning, they began their journey from the banks of Ganga, using a boat to reach the southern banks of the holy river. Loud noise pervaded because the confluence of two rivers Ganga and Sarayu surged into each other with force.

On the other side of Ganga, a dense and dangerous looking forest awaited them. It was bereft of human settlements. The only sounds that could be heard was that of animals, birds and insects. Vishwamitra told the boys the story about this place.

"Ek samaye ki baat hai jab yeh sthaan 2 samridh nagriyo ka ghar tha, Maladaa aur Karushaa. Ek din Tadka namak ek Nar-bhakshi Rakshasi ki drishti yaha pad gayi. Brahmadev ke vardaan ke karan uske paas 1000 Gajo ki shakti hai. Uske hi putra Marich ne mere yagya ko bhang kiya tha. Tadka ne iss sthaan mei atank macha diya, usne yaha ke nivasiyo ko apna bhojan bana unke gharo ka naash kar diya. Aur iss tarah uske atank ke karan yeh 2 samridh nagriya, iss ghane van mei parivartit ho gayi." Vishwamitra said.

Both the princes heard the story carefully. With some authority Vishwamitra looked at the elder prince.

"Ram, Tadka ne iss jagah ka sarvanash kar diya hai aur aaj tak kar rahi hai. Uske atank ke liye, usse mrityu dand do. Hey Raghukul-bhushan, vadh karo Rakshasi Tadka ka !" Vishwamitra said.

"Tadka ka vadh ? Gurudev, kintu woh toh ke stree hai. Kya shaashtro ke anusaar Brahmin aur Stree avadhya nahi ?" Shri Ram was reluctant.

In the civilization of Bharatvarsh, especially in Suryavansh, they didn't even raise their voice at women and treated them with all the respect. Now a situation demands to kill one ? Shri Ram wasn't sure.

"Tadka jaisi stree ka vadh karne mei naa toh tumhe ghrina aani chahiye aur naa hi man mei shanka koi utpan honi chahiye. Tum Rajkumar ho, tumhe woh karna chahiye jo tumhari praja ke hit mei ho. Raja ke liye praja ki suraksha, sarvapratham hona chahiye." Vishwamitra said.

And thus the Brahmarishi gave Shri Ram the first big lesson that will guide him throughout his life.

"Apne praja ke liye, Raja ko koi bhi karya karne hetu tatpar rehna chahiye, bhale woh karya kathor ho ya nirmal, punya ho ya paap. Yeh hai Raj Dharm, jiska palan unn sabko karna padta hai jinke paas Rajya par Raj karne ka uttardayitva ho." Vishwamitra said.

Shri Ram nodded at Vishwamitra and joined his hands, clearly understanding the lesson.

"Iss liye Ram, sankoch na karo. Iss Rakshasi ka vadh kar adharm ka naash karo. Tadka mei tanik bhi dharm shesh nahi hai." Vishwamitra said.

"Jo agya Gurudev." Shri Ram bowed.

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A/N

The first major teaching of Ramayan is Raj-dharm as given by Vishwamitra.

For the sake of his people, a king should be willing to undertake any kind of action, be it harsh or gentle, virtuous or apparently sinful.

Now take this teaching, and put it in the context of Mata Sita's exile in Uttar Kaand. You will understand Shri Ram's actions.

Was it unfair to Mata Sita ? Yes. Was the unfair treatment done by Shri Ram ? Yes. But was he at fault ? No.

He was not in fault. He was in Dharm-sankat.