Hari Om.
Let us begin the sixty first sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The tribal king guha showed around the places that rAma graced during his night stay at the SRngabErapura to bharata, the ministers and the royal women. As bharata examined the place under the ingudi tree where the bed of grass was laid for rAma and sItA. The prince diligently identified the depressions made by the weight of rAma’s limbs on the bed of grass and also the golden dust from the jewels of sItA. He was aghast at what rAma had to go through. He recalled the exalted life that rAma deserved to live and was instead undergoing hardships in the forest. After recalling in great detail, bharata declared that from that very day he would wear matted locks and barks in consonance with what rAma was adorning. Onwards…
Having spent the night on the banks of gangA in SRngabErapura, on the morning bharata woke Satrughna up and asked him to summon guha and his kinsmen in order to help them cross the river gangA. Satrughna was hardly asleep, his eyes were closed and he was lost in the thoughts of rAma! As the brothers thus conversed, the tribal king guha arrived there and affectionately inquired if bharata and his entourage had a good night’s rest. The prince bharata was pleased at this courteous inquiry and replied in the affirmative that they have been well taken care of. He further requested guha to order his kinsmen to ferry them across the river. Receiving the request as a command, guha hurried to his kin and ordered them to be ready with their boats at once to ferry the army of bharata across the river gangA. They immediately arranged five hundred boats to ferry the royal retinue across the river.
The boats that were pressed into the service of bharata and his people were large, adorned with bells and sported flags. The boat called swastikA that the preceptors, bharata, Satrughna, kausalyA, sumitrA, kaikEyI and other wives of daSaratha boarded in that order made auspicious sounds with the jingling of the bells and an elegant white carpet was spread over it. The accompanying citizens removed their tents and carrying the paraphernalia and the supplies quickly boarded the boats. Some boats were filled with women, while others carried horses and other animals to draw carriages. Having dropped the citizens on the other bank of gangA while the boatsmen returned to their shore, they made elegant formations with their boats! The elephants swam through the river and seemed like mountains sporting flags. Not all men were ferried in the boats, some used large utensils to sail through the river while others made use of the might of their arm to swim through.
By the stroke of noon, the army reached the forests of prayAga having crossed the river gangA. Having instructed the army to camp there and feel at home, bharata along with his preceptors and ministers headed to the hermitage of sage bharadwAja beholding the lovely forests filled with a variety of foliage on the way.
Here we conclude the eighty ninth sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 2.90. bharata meets the benevolent bharadwAja
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 