Hari Om.
Let us begin the eighty first sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Prince bharata after conducting the last rites of the king and for thirteen days after that, on the fourteenth day not only flatly refused to ascend the throne but emphatically declared that rAma and no one else deserves to sit on the throne of ayOdhyA. He decided to go to the forest and reverentially and with due ceremony bring rAma back to ayOdhyA. All of them hailed bharata’s decision which was in fact what they hopelessly hoped for! Upon bharata’s orders, engineers, surveyors, laborers, road layers, well diggers and a variety of other professionals swung into swift action and from ayOdhyA all the way until the banks of gangA laid a road fit for the gods to travel and dotted it with many an amenity like drinking water and resting inns. The points where the prince would break his journey for the day were also meticulously planned. The sarga [2.80. Laying the royal road to rAma!] wonderfully describes the various professions that existed in ayOdhyA that made it an advanced state! As the road to rAma is laid, let us travel Onwards…
The bards, panegyrists and eulogists who begin their work early in the morning in order to wake up the king with auspicious utterances and flattering eulogies got into action as a fresh morning dawned. Auspicious notes of hundreds of conches, trumpets, beating of drums and a variety of reverberating notes rent the air, as if they touched the heavens, in order to ceremonially wake up the purported crown prince and make him happy. Prince bharata was extremely pained at this royal treatment and he asked all those blowing the trumpet to stop at once as he was not the king and didn’t deserve this. He broke down at this honour that actually looked like a grave insult of rAma and told Satrughna – “look what disaster kaikEyI’s schemes have brought upon people. I am suffering due to the absence of the king. The kingdom that was anchored by the able and righteous king is now wobbling like a boat would in a whirlpool without the helmsman. The righteous and virtuous rAma was banished to the forest due to the crooked ambitiousness of my mother”. The prince wept inconsolably and lost his senses. Seeing the prince weep, the women of the apartment couldn’t hold back and wept as well.
At this time the chief preceptor sage vasisTha entered the royal assembly of the ikshvAkus studded with gold, gems and precious stones and it resembled the hallowed palace of lord indra.
He reached there with his disciples and was seated on a golden high seat. He immediately sent for the council of ministers, army commanders, key citizens, royal attendants, sumantra, yudhAjit and princes bharata and Satrughna. There was great activity and tumult as the key citizens and decision makers of ayOdhyA converged on elephants, chariots and horses to debate on a matter of great urgency about who would rule over ayOdhyA.
Prince bharata long with Satrughna entered the palace and he received a king daSaratha like welcome by all present there.
Here we conclude the eighty 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 book for word by word meaning from IITK website
Click on the bow to listen to the audio by SrIrAma ghanApATi
Next: 2.82. ayOdhyA sets out to the forests
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 