Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 73

Meaning

Sore stricken with sorrow to hear the unwelcome news about his father, as well as of his brothers, Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, having been sent into exile, Bharata replied as follows : (1)

Meaning

“What object on earth will possibly be gained through sovereignty by me, a wretched being, deprived of his father and elder brother—who was as good as a father—and, therefore, grieving? (2)

Meaning

“Reducing the king to the state of a departed soul and turning Śrī Rāma an ascetic on top of it, you have brought calamity after calamity to me—rubbed salt, as it were, into my wound. (3)

Meaning

“Like the night of universal dissolution (or Goddess Kālarātri, one of the nine Durgās or manifestations of the Divine Energy associated with the dissolution of the universe), you made your appearance in my father’s house for the extermination of my race ! Even on clasping a live coal to his bosom, my father did not recognize it as such. (4)

Meaning

“The king, my father, has been consigned to death by you, O woman, who perceive evil even where there is none and have brought disgrace to your family ! Through infatuation the joy of this family has been taken away by you. (5)

Meaning

“Indeed, having got you for his wife, my highly illustrious father, King Daśaratha, who was true to his promise and was sore stricken with acute agony, born of separation from his eldest son, has passed away. (6)

Meaning

“Wherefore was the Emperor, my father, who was so lovingly devoted to duty, deprived of his life by you? For what precise reason was Śrī Rāma sent into exile and he proceeded to the forest? (7)

Meaning

“Having got you, my mother for their co-wife, Kausalyā and Sumitrā too have been tormented with grief caused by separation from their own son. They would indeed accomplish something hard if they survive any longer. (8)

Meaning

“Surely, my elder brother, Śrī Rāma, too, whose mind is given to piety and who knows full well how to serve his elders, rendered the best services to you as he did to his own mother ! (9)

Meaning

“Even so, my seniormost mother, Kausalyā, who takes a long-range view of things, behaved towards you as towards her own sister, following, as she does, the principles of right conduct. (10)

Meaning

“Having sent her high-souled son, clad in tatters and the bark of trees, into exile in a forest, wherefore do you not grieve, O sinful woman? (11)

Meaning

“Having sent into exile, clad in the bark of trees, the illustrious hero, who never detected others’ sin and had mastered his self, what gain on earth do you expect? (12)

Meaning

“To you, who are full of greed for power and pelf, I am not known, I believe, in my reality as to how devoted I am to Śrī Rāma (a scion of Raghu). That is why this great tragedy has been enacted by you for the sake of sovereignty. (13)

Meaning

“Failing to perceive the two tigers among men, Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, by virtue of what strength can I venture to protect the kingdom of Ayodhyā? (14)

Meaning

“Even the Emperor, whose mind was given to piety, ever depended on the might of the powerful Śrī Rāma—who is possessed of extraordinary strength—just as Mount Meru depends for its protection against inroads on the forest grown on it. (15)

Meaning

“How and with what stamina shall I, whose only strength is Śrī Rāma, sustain this burden of kingship any more than a calf would stand the strain on getting a load, borne with ease by a giant bull? (16)

Meaning

“Or, even if such capacity could be brought out in me through contrivances or through intellectual calibre, I shall never allow you to attain your desired end—you, who covet sovereignty for your son, i.e., myself. (17)

Meaning

“No disinclination would be felt by me even in deserting you, a woman of sinful resolve, if Śrī Rāma did not regard you as a mother at all times. (18)

Meaning

“How did this idea of securing the kingdom for a younger brother in supersession of the eldest—an idea which contemplates evil in relation to others and which has been severely condemned by our forbears—enter your mind at all, O woman fallen from virtuous conduct? (19)

Meaning

“Indeed in our house the eldest* of all brothers is installed on the throne. The other brothers devoutly obey him. (20)

Meaning

“I believe you do not at all respect the moral code prescribed for kings, nor do you know the eternal way of life of kings, O cruel woman ! (21)

Meaning

“Among the sons of a king the eldest alone is invariably crowned king. This is a common practice among all kings, and it is particularly true of the Ikṣwākus. (22)

Meaning

“The self-esteem, born of loftiness of character, cherished by the aforesaid kings—who were protected by their righteousness alone and who shone by virtue of a mode of life befitting their race—has disappeared today on coming to be associated with you. (23)

Meaning

“How has this perversity of reason, contemptible for you, appeared in you too, O exceptionally blessed lady, born of a royal lineage ! (24)

Meaning

“I will not in any case accomplish your desired object, O woman of sinful resolve, since a calamity which may eventually prove fatal to me, has been set on foot by you. (25)

Meaning

“In order to give offence to you, I shall, however, forthwith cause to return from the forest my sinless elder brother, Śrī Rāma, the beloved of his people. (26)

Meaning

“Nay, having caused Śrī Rāma to return from the forest, I shall settle down in life with a composed mind, turning a servant of the aforesaid prince of effulgent glory.” (27)

Meaning

Having spoken as aforesaid to his mother, pricking her once more with volleys of piercing words, the high-souled Bharata, even though tormented with grief, roared like a lion ensconced in a cave of Mount Mandara. (28)