In Ramayan (Kannada poet Kuvempu's "Ramayana Darshanam" epic poem) when Lord Ram is told that he has to renounce the crown & go to the forest for 14 years, he tells his stepmother Kaikeyi not to worry because he had asked his father the very same boon to enjoy a pastoral life, but his father, apprehensive of that desire of Ram, thought of binding him here by crowning him. So her desire is for his own good & that she is his real mother. Pastoral life is not difficult but an utmost pleasure for a nature lover like him. Coarse clothing is not inferior to the crown.
Now to find the Biblical parallel, let us examine the children's classic, "Pollyanna" by Eleanor. H. Porter. The eponymous little girl, though orphaned, is irrepressibly optimistic, feeling "Glad" about even things which others may consider as hardships. She comes to live with her aunt, who takes her in only as a duty. Everyone considers her as queer until well past the middle of the book when she meets the pastor of the town, who is deeply depressed over the conduct of his parishioners. She senses it & tells him that her own father was a pastor in dire straits but managed because of the "rejoicing texts" of the Bible (though they are not so named.) Asked further she says once her father in deep distress, counted the places where the word "rejoice" appears in the Bible & found about 800 of them. By studying those, he got courage to face life & indirectly influenced his daughter also.
How similar are Lord Ram's attitude & Pollyanna's!
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