Ramayana of Valmiki

by Hari Prasad Shastri | 1952 | 527,382 words | ISBN-10: 9333119590 | ISBN-13: 9789333119597

This page is entitled “prince bharata reproaches his mother” and represents Chapter 73 of the Ayodhya-kanda of the Ramayana (English translation by Hari Prasad Shastri). The Ramayana narrates the legend of Rama and Sita and her abduction by Ravana, the king of Lanka. It contains 24,000 verses divided into seven sections [viz., Ayodhya-kanda].

Chapter 73 - Prince Bharata reproaches his mother

Hearing of the death of his father and the exile of his brothers, Prince Bharata, deeply afflicted, answered Queen Kaikeyi:

“What will the throne avail me, since I am stricken by the death of my father and bereft of my brother, who was as a parent to me? You have destroyed the king, and banished Rama, causing him to become an ascetic! You have thus rubbed salt into the wounds which you have inflicted! You have entered this royal House for its extinction, like the night of death! My father, unaware that you were an all-consuming fire, supported you. O Sinful One, you have deprived the king of life! O You Destroyer of the Family, overpowered with avarice, you have shattered the peace of the hearth. Through union with you, my father, a lover of truth, has suffered untold misery and grief! Wherefore hast you slain my virtuous sire? Wherefore hast you exiled Rama? Hard indeed were it to live with such a mother! How will Kaushalya and Sumitra now endure life? My elder brother, Shri Ramacandra, ever devoted to his duty and to the service of his Guru, treated you as his own mother. So also my elder mother, Queen Kaushalya, knowing what would befall, yet acted towards you as a true sister, in a proper spirit. You have sent her son to the forest in ascetic’s garb and still you dost not grieve? What hast you gained by sending that renowned hero, Rama, to the forest, Rama, who was unacquainted with suffering? Were you ignorant of my great love for Raghava, that you, possessed by avarice, committed this great sin, O Mother? By what power can I rule, deprived of Lakshmana and that Lion among men, Shri Rama? King Dasaratha ever depended on that mighty and valorous Rama, as the forest depends on Mount Meru! How can I sustain the burden of the kingdom, without the support of Rama? How should a calf sustain the load that taxes the strength of a full-grown bull? Even if it were possible for me to rule through wisdom and sound policy, yet would I not allow your evil intention in seeking the kingdom for your son, to prevail! I should have abandoned you, O Mother, did I not know that Rama regards you as his mother also! O You Evil-minded One, you have brought disgrace on the dynasty of my ancestors! How didst you conceive such a purpose, bringing shame into our lives? It is the immemorial custom of our House, that the eldest brother shall occupy the throne and the younger brothers obey him. You are not acquainted with the duty of a king nor dost you know the rules of government. In the House of Ikshvaku, the succession of the eldest son is enjoined. To-day, you have cast into the dust the glory and integrity of the House of Ikshvaku, that was enriched by the noble conduct of its kings! You, too, were born of a renowned and royal House, how earnest you to entertain this evil intention? O Mother, let it be known to you that I will never fulfil your evil desires, come what may, since you have introduced that which is destructive of life into this royal House! I shall now bring my sinless brother, Rama, back to the capital and thwart you! Not only will I cause Rama to return from the forest, but I will serve him with my whole heart!”

Thus reproaching Kaikeyi, himself afflicted, with harsh words, Bharata spoke once more, roaring like a lion in the caves of the Mandara mountain.

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