Urmila, the Sleeping Princess

Here is a forgotten chapter from the Ramayana, the beloved Hindu epic. Chances are that you’ve never heard of this princess and her sacrifice.

When Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, was exiled to the forest for fourteen years as per the wishes of Kaikeyi, his father’s youngest queen, Rama’s wife Sita insisted that she accompany him to the forest.

‘A woman’s place is by her husband, and I shall go wherever you go. Please do not stop me. If it’s your duty to follow the orders of your father, it is mine to follow you to the ends of the earth.’ The young princess was stubborn and Rama had no choice but to let her have her way.

As for Prince Lakshmana, his younger brother, there was no question that he would let his brother go into exile on his own. Since their days in the cradle, they had always been together, so much so that if baby Lakshmana was placed anywhere other than near his brother Rama, he would cry and cry until he was beside him again!

‘Dear Rama, you know you have no choice but to let me come with you. All I want to do is to take care of you and Sita,’ said Lakshmana when his brother tried to dissuade him. ‘Can you remember a time when we have ever been apart?’ Rama had no answer to that.

Lakshmana was married to Urmila, Sita’s younger sister. He hurried to her chambers to break the news to her. Gently, Lakshmana, gently, he told himself. He knew that Urmila was a spirited princess too. Of course, he was being unfair to her.

Urmila had heard from her sister Sita that she would be accompanying her husband and when Lakshmana announced that he was going too, she was unperturbed. ‘Oh, we must go with them,’ she began cheerfully, her beautiful eyes lighting up at the thought of all of them going off into the great unknown.

‘Not we, Urmila, just me,’ said Lakshmana gently. ‘You must stay behind and take care of our old parents while we are away.’

‘But a wife’s place is by her husband. Isn’t Sita going? She has told me herself. If you are going, I shall go too.’ Urmila was beginning to get annoyed with her husband.

‘I know you are right, dear Urmila. It is just that if I were to take you along, it would be a huge responsibility for me. The forest is a dangerous place with evil asuras and wild animals lurking in unexpected corners. I will need all my wits about me to focus on protecting my dear brother and his wife. Please understand and make this sacrifice for me.’ Lakshmana knew he was being unfair but his life was dedicated to his brother.

Urmila knew that too. She was quiet for a while. ‘As you wish . . .’ whispered the princess tearfully and bid adieu to her husband.

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana left for their exile. When night fell and the entire world was asleep, Lakshmana stayed awake watching over his beloved brother and his wife.

One night as he sat outside his brother’s dwelling, a luminous form appeared before Lakshmana. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw before him a resplendent goddess. She smiled at him. ‘How are you going to do this, Lakshmana?’ she asked.

‘Do what?’ Lakshmana was puzzled for he knew not who she was and what she was getting at.

‘Sleep . . . Everybody needs to sleep. I’m Nidra, the goddess of sleep. Are you going to spend the fourteen years of your brother’s exile without sleep? It is going to be impossible!’

‘But I will not, and cannot, sleep for I intend to watch over my brother day and night,’ said Lakshmana.

‘I know of your devotion, Lakshmana. But no living creature can survive without sleep. That is the universal law . . . Unless . . .’ The goddess paused.

‘Unless . . . What?’ Lakshmana seized upon that pause. ‘Unless there is someone who will do that for you,’ smiled the goddess. ‘Sleep all the sleep you need for the fourteen years that you are in exile . . . Is there someone who will do that for you?’

Lakshmana smiled in relief. He knew he could count on one person, his wife! ‘My wife, Urmila . . . She will surely take my place.’

‘I will go at once to the palace of Dasharata in Ayodhya and ask her,’ said Goddess Nidra and disappeared as she had come.

And of course, Urmila did offer to take on Lakshmana’s share of sleep and went into a deep slumber for all of the fourteen years that he was away. And this is why no one speaks of Urmila throughout the Ramayana. But we know that her story ended happily when she was reunited with her husband, when he returned to Ayodhya after the exile was over.