Rama was dear to everyone in Ayodhya. Yet, Kaikeyi’s attendant Mantara disliked Him intensely. Wasn’t that why she was not able to digest the thought that He would become the king? Wasn’t that why she instigated Kaikeyi to stop the impending coronation and banish Rama to the forest? But what was the reason? Valmiki offers no explanation.
Commentator Udali has a simple explanation: since Mantara was not really a citizen of Ayodhya, she having come with Kaikeyi from her kingdom, she did not know Rama’s greatness.In the Kamba Ramayanam, Kambar says that when Mantara heard of the coronation plan, she
recalled an incident from Rama’s childhood. Rama once playfully shot an arrow at her. Instead of taking it in the right spirit as the prank of a child, she took it as an
insult and nursed a grudge against Him. Kambar, in offering
this explanation, was following in the footsteps of Azhvars, V.S. Karunakarachariar said in a discourse.
Nammazhvar has mentioned Mantara in one of his verses.
When Kambar explained about Mantara’s dislike for Rama,
scholars rejected it. Their objection was two-fold. One was
that no such explanation had been given by Valmiki. Secondly, since Nammazhvar had used the word ‘Govinda’ in his verse, he must have meant another lady with a hunchback who lived in the time of Krishna. The verse
was a reference to Krishna, the scholars argued.
One more argument was placed against Kambar’s interpretation of Nammazhvar’s verse. While Rama was a well behaved child, Krishna was mischievous.So Nammazhvar must have referred to Krishna, the
scholars argued. But Krishna, being the mischievous one, always took the blame even for Rama’s pranks! So Nammazhvar, though he was talking about Mantara,
forgot momentarily that he was talking about Rama and used the word ‘Govinda,’ a reference to Krishna.
When Sugriva is crowned, Rama tells him that a king should
not think of any of his subjects as insignificant or treat anyone with disrespect, and in this context He speaks of the Mantara episode.Who but Rama could be so magnanimous in seeing even His childhood prank as being wrong, for it had hurt someone?
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