Hari Om.
Let us begin the one hundred first sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
With single minded determination and focus, bharata finally reaches chitrakUTa helped by guha and sage bharadwAja and falls at the feet of rAma. It may be recalled that bharata was away at his grandfather’s place when daSaratha proposed rAma’s coronation. We read in the first sarga of ayOdhyA kAnDam [ 2.1. Incomparable rAma of innumerable virtues ] that bharata went to the kEkaya kingdom where his grandfather aSwapati and his uncle yudhAjit took good care of him. So rAma and bharata had not seen each other for a long time! So when bharata falls at rAma’s feet, he although aware of bharata’s advent (and his noble intentions) takes a while to recognize his younger brother and lovingly draws him near. As if to distract bharata from his intentions, rAma launches into a masterclass on how to rule the kingdom. Very interestingly rAma doesn’t preach directly but by emplying “I hope” before every point, he necessarily communicates the tenets of good governace and statecraft. The breadth and depth of the aspects that rAma covers is comprehensive ranging from common folk, farmers, women and children to scholars [ 2.100. The tenets of rAma rAjya ] and form a manual for every ruler to follow. He details the dos and don’ts for rulers and intricately weaves it with personal values and practices of the king. The previous sarga was an amazing demonstration of the vast administrative knowledge of rAma along with their references in the scriptural text.
For someone who came to persuade rAma to go back to ayOdhyA and take on the mantle of ruler to be questioned about how he is ruling might seem ironical but perhaps that is an instruction to bharata about the way to conduct affairs of the kingdom! How does bharata take it? Onwards…
Having drawn the devoted bharata near him and lovingly caressed him, rAma along with lakshmaNa further asked – “I desire to learn what brings you here to the forest clad in bark clothes and wearing matted locks, leaving the coveted ayOdhyA. I desire to know this”. Thus asked by the great kakutstha (rAma), the son of kaikEyI, bharata replied with tightly folded hands
– “O Arya (venerable one), on the behest of my mother kaikEyI, our great father did the impossible and sinful task of banishing you and then unable to bear the grief of separation from you and having destroyed his reputation, passed away. That mother of mine, widowed, grieving and unfulfilled in her ambition of clinching the kingdom shall rot in dreadful hell. Now, you shall confer your grace on the servant that I am and right away coronate yourself like indra, as the king of ayOdhyA. Look at these citizens and widowed mothers who have all assembled here to beseech you to and you shall bestow your favor on them. This kingdom is your right by succession and you are worthy of it every bit, therefore you shall rightfully inherit this and fulfil the desire of all your friends. Like the moonlight reigns on an autumnal night, you may reign on this earth as its lord and rescue it from widowhood. This is what the ministers along with me beseech of you and you ought to be favorable to me who is your brother, disciple and servant. O best among men, rAma, you ought not ignore the prayers of this council of ministers and the citizens and anoint yourself and honor the hereditary and perpetual order of our lineage”.
Praying thus, bharata choked, tears were streamed down his cheeks, bowed his head down to rAma’s feet and held them tightly. He resembled an elephant caught in the rut and sighed heavily and repeatedly. rAma, lifted him, embraced him tightly and said to his brother bharata – “How can a person like me born in a noble race, possessing might and good conduct, illustrious commit a grave sin for the sake of kingdom? I do not find an iota of fault in you, nor should you condemn your mother childishly in this manner. O intelligent and sinless one, the scriptures and the preceptors proclaim that the wedded one is free to act as per his will towards his wife and children. Similarly you ought to know that we being the subjects of the state must abide by the command of the king (daSaratha). Therefore, O gentle one, you ought to know that only king daSaratha, the lord is capable of placing me in the forest or in the kingdom. And just like we honor the word of the king, our father, we ought to honor the words of our mother as well. I have been commanded by the righteous duo to dwell in forest and therefore where is the question of doing otherwise? Amidst the confluence of people, king daSaratha commanded me to dwell in the forest donning the bark robes and asked you to rule over ayOdhyA. The proclamation made by the king regarding the division of responsibilities for us ought to be honored by both of us. You ought to rule over the kingdom given by father and I ought to live in the danDaka forest for fourteen years. The order proclaimed thus by the popular and great king, equal to indra for me is indeed cannot be transgressed and must be observed.
Here we conclude the one hundred first sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Click on the above link for word by word meaning from IITK website
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Next: 2.102. Consumed in the thoughts of rAma…
Previous: 2.100. The tenets of rAma rAjya
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 