Doha 48
का सुनाइ बिधि काह सुनावा। का देखाइ चह काह देखावा॥ एक कहहिं भल भूप न कीन्हा। बरु बिचारि नहिं कुमतिहि दीन्हा॥१॥
जो हठि भयउ सकल दुख भाजनु। अबला बिबस ग्यानु गुनु गा जनु॥ एक धरम परमिति पहिचाने। नृपहि दोसु नहिं देहिं सयाने॥२॥
सिबि दधीचि हरिचंद कहानी। एक एक सन कहहिं बखानी॥ एक भरत कर संमत कहहीं। एक उदास भायँ सुनि रहहीं॥३॥
कान मूदि कर रद गहि जीहा। एक कहहिं यह बात अलीहा॥ सुकृत जाहिं अस कहत तुम्हारे। रामु भरत कहुँ प्रानपिआरे॥४॥
Meaning
“Having first ordained one thing, the Creator has now ordained quite the reverse of it; having shown us one spectacle he would now show us quite another.” Some people said, “The king has not done well; he has not been discreet in granting the wicked woman her request, (1) “whereby he has wilfully courted all this tragedy. By allowing himself to be ruled by a woman, he has lost his wisdom and goodness, as it were.” Others, who were saner, did not blame the king, recognizing, as they did, his high standard of morality. (2) They repeated at length to one another the narratives of Śibi, Dadhīci and Hariścandra*. Some suggested Bharata’s connivance, while still others passively heard what their companions said. (3) * Hariścandra, son of Triśaṅku, was a king of Ayodhyā and the twenty-eighth in descent from Ikṣvāku, the founder of the solar dynasty. In order to satisfy the claims of the sage Viśvāmitra, who wanted to test his integrity, he parted with his kingdom and all that he had, sold his wife and only son and hired himself out as the employee of a pariah who kept a burning Ghāṭa. Whenever a dead body was brought for cremation there, Hariścandra used to recover the toll and make it over to his master. One day it so happened that a snake bit his only son, Rohita, and the ex-queen brought the dead prince for cremation to the same Ghāṭa. Even though the ex-king recognized them to be his own wife and child, he would not allow the child to be cremated without recovering the usual toll. At last the penniless woman offered to part with the rag with which she had covered her shame and the heartless ex-monarch was going to strip her naked when the gods interposed and restored the pious king to his throne and all his former prosperity. Others closed their ears with their hands and bit their tongue as they exclaimed, “This is untrue. All your merits will be destroyed as you utter these words: Śrī Rāma is dear to Bharata as his own life. (4)
चंदु चवै बरु अनल कन सुधा होइ बिषतूल। सपनेहुँ कबहुँ न करहिं किछु भरतु राम प्रतिकूल॥४८॥
Meaning
“Sooner shall the moon rain sparks of fire or nectar have the same effect as poison than Bharata ever dream of doing anything prejudicial to the interests of Śrī Rāma.” (48)
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