Doha 233
Bharata takes a dip in the Mandākinī and arrives at Citrakūṭa; Bharata and others meet one another, mourn the king’s death and perform his Śrāddha (obsequies)
जौं न होत जग जनम भरत को। सकल धरम धुर धरनि धरत को॥ कबि कुल अगम भरत गुन गाथा। को जानइ तुम्ह बिनु रघुनाथा॥१॥
लखन राम सियँ सुनि सुर बानी। अति सुखु लहेउ न जाइ बखानी॥ इहाँ भरतु सब सहित सहाए। मंदाकिनीं पुनीत नहाए॥२॥
सरित समीप राखि सब लोगा। मागि मातु गुर सचिव नियोगा॥ चले भरतु जहँ सिय रघुराई। साथ निषादनाथु लघु भाई॥३॥
समुझि मातु करतब सकुचाहीं। करत कुतरक कोटि मन माहीं॥ रामु लखनु सिय सुनि मम नाऊँ। उठि जनि अनत जाहिं तजि ठाऊँ॥४॥
Meaning
“Had Bharata not been born into the world, who on this earth would have upheld the cause of virtue in its entirety? Who else than you, O Raghunātha, can know Bharata’s good qualities, which are inaccessible even to the race of bards?” (1) On hearing the words of the gods, Lakṣmaṇa, Śrī Rāma and Sītā were extremely delighted as cannot be described in words. There Bharata with all his host bathed in the sacred Mandākinī. (2) Then, leaving all the people on the riverside and taking permission of his mothers, the preceptor, Sage Vasiṣṭha, and the minister Sumantra, he proceeded to the spot where Sītā and Śrī Rāma were, taking the Niṣāda chief and his younger brother Śatrughna with him. (3) As he thought of what his mother had done, he felt diffident and formed ill-conjectures of every kind in his mind: “God forbid that Śrī Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā leave the place on hearing my name and shift to some other place! (4)
मातु मते महुँ मानि मोहि जो कछु करहिं सो थोर। अघ अवगुन छमि आदरहिं समुझि आपनी ओर॥२३३॥
Meaning
“Taking me to be an accomplice of my mother, nothing that he might do would be too much. But looking to his own self, I am sure, he will forgive my faults and will be benevolent to me. (233)
Ramayan appFree. No ads. Works offline.InstallFrom the Gita Press, Gorakhpur edition. Buy the book