The story about Lord Ram and the frog

I was really touched by this short, I must say very short story related to Ramayana about Lord Ram and a frog. Ram and his brother Lakshman reached a stream and were thirsty. They went towards the stream to quench their thirst. Ram struck his arrow into the ground near the stream and went to drink water. When Ram was back, he pulled out the arrow from the ground. He was astonished to find blood on the tip of his arrow. He looked down and saw a small frog. His arrow had pierced the frog, pinning it to the ground. Ram was sad. He asked the frog, “Why didn’t you cry out when the arrow pierced you?” The frog replied, “Whenever someone tries to harm me I cry out, “Ram, save me! When Ram himself pierces me with his arrow to whom can I cry out for help?”

The story has a deeper meaning into it. What could be worse? It always brings to my mind little children abused by adults. They are so innocent and trusting and they somehow think adults will protect them, especially their parents. In India we always read about parents killing the children as part of a mass suicide. Newspapers provided gory details of a mother strangling her 5-year-old daughter before committing suicide. There is another mother who threw her little ones into the river. I remember a spine chilling account by a railway engine driver, who saw a mother pushing her struggling little children in front of the train. He witnessed the helplessness and fear in the eyes of those little children who were crushed under the train.

My children were disturbed by such detailed accounts in newspapers. They asked, “Why do parents kill their children?” I said, “Parents, especially mothers think of a child as an extension of themselves. May be they think their children will suffer after their death”. But then there is no justification for taking an innocent child’s life. My son said, “Even if the parents want to die, why can’t they just let the children live. They will live some how.” I realized that children were following up with such incidents in newspapers. They are simply unable to digest the idea of parents killing their own children.

While parents are adults and make the decision themselves, the hapless children have no one to turn for help when parents turn attackers. Their little lives get put out by the same hands that nurtured them. For those children who survive, it will be a trauma that lasts a lifetime.