Ram’s father decided to retire and appoint him the king. However, his second wife’s mind was poisoned by her maid, who reminded her that the king owed her two wishes and so she could use them to ensure that her son would become the king instead of Ram. The second wife voiced her two wishes to her husband, which were to banish Ram to the forest for fourteen years and crown her son as the king. Devastated by this turn of events, Ram’s father begged and pleaded with her to ask for something else but his second wife refused to relent.