Ayodhya Kanda · Sarga 70 of 119 · 30 verses
Bharata Leaves Kekaya
While Bharata is telling his dream, the messengers, their mounts exhausted, enter the lovely city of Rajagriha with its impassable moat. Received with honour by the king and the prince, they clasp the king’s feet and say to Bharata: “The priest and all the ministers ask after your welfare. Set out in haste; there is urgent business for you. Accept these costly clothes and ornaments, large-eyed one, and have them given to your uncle. Twenty crores are for the king your grandfather, and a full ten crores for your uncle, prince.” Accepting them all, devoted to his friends, Bharata honours the messengers with gifts and asks: “Is my father King Dasharatha well? Are Rama and great-souled Lakshmana in good health? Is Kausalya, wise Rama’s mother, noble, devoted to dharma, knowing and seeing dharma, in good health? Is Sumitra, who knows dharma, mother of Lakshmana and of heroic Shatrughna, the middle queen, well? And my mother Kaikeyi, always selfish, fierce, quick to anger, proud of her cleverness: is she in good health? What did she say?” Questioned by great-souled Bharata, the messengers answer politely: “Those whose welfare you ask after are well, tiger among men. Shri of the lotus chooses you; let your chariot be yoked.”
Bharata says to the messengers: “I will take leave of the great king; the messengers are hurrying me.” Then the prince says to his maternal grandfather: “King, urged by the messengers, I will go to my father. I will come again when you remember me.” The king, his grandfather, kisses Raghava’s head and says these kind words: “Go, dear child; I give you leave. Kaikeyi has a good son in you. Tell your mother and your father that I wish them well, scorcher of foes, and the priest and the other best of brahmanas, and those two great archers, your brothers Rama and Lakshmana.” The Kekaya king honours Bharata and gives him wealth: fine elephants, bright blankets and deerskins, two thousand gold coins and sixteen hundred horses. The lord of horses quickly gives Bharata trusted, virtuous ministers of his choice to go with him. His uncle gives him handsome elephants of Airavata’s and Indra-shira’s stock, swift, well-trained donkeys, and as a gift huge dogs raised in the inner palace, strong as tigers, with teeth as their weapons. Taking leave of his grandfather and his uncle Yudhajit, Bharata mounts his chariot and sets out with Shatrughna. A great worry is in his heart, because of the messengers’ haste and the dream. Passing out of his residence, crowded with men, elephants and horses, the glorious one comes to the great royal road. Further on, the noble-minded prince sees the inner palace and enters it unopposed. His servants follow him in more than a hundred chariots with round wheels, and with camels, oxen, horses and donkeys. Guarded by an army, with ministers like himself chosen by his grandfather, great-souled Bharata, free of enemies, takes Shatrughna and leaves the house like a siddha leaving the world of Indra.
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भरते ब्रुवति स्वप्नं दूतास्ते क्लान्तवाहनाः । प्रविश्यासह्यपरिखं रम्यं राजगृहं पुरम् ॥ १ ॥
While Bharata was telling his dream, those messengers, their mounts exhausted, entered the lovely city of Rajagriha with its impassable moat.
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Bharata Leaves Kekaya 1 min read.
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समागम्य तु राज्ञा च राजपुत्रेण चार्चिताः । राज्ञः पादौ गृहीत्वा तुतमूचुर्भरतं वचः ॥ २ ॥
Meeting the king and the prince, and honoured by them, they clasped the king’s feet and said these words to Bharata:
पुरोहितस्त्वा कुशलं प्राह सर्वे च मन्त्रिणः । त्वरमाणश्च निर्याहि कृत्यमात्ययिकं त्वया ॥ ३ ॥
“The priest and all the ministers say you are well. Set out in haste; you have urgent business.
इमानि च महार्हाणि वस्त्राण्याभरणानि च । प्रतिगृह्य विशालाक्ष मातुलस्य च दापय ॥ ४ ॥
“And accepting these very costly clothes and ornaments, large-eyed one, have them given to your uncle too.
अत्र विंशति कोट्यस्तु नृपतेर्मातुलस्य ते । दश कोट्यस्तु सम्पूर्णास्तथैव च नृपात्मज ॥ ५ ॥
“Here are twenty crores for the king, your maternal grandfather, and a full ten crores likewise for your uncle, prince.”
प्रतिगृह्य तु तत्सर्वं स्वनुरक्तः सुहृज्जने । दूतानुवाच भरतः कामैः सम्प्रतिपूज्य तान् ॥ ६ ॥
Accepting all that, Bharata, devoted to his friends, honouring the messengers with what they desired, said to them:
कच्चित्सुकुशली राजा पिता दशरथो मम । कच्चिच्चारोगता रामे लक्ष्मणे च महात्मनि ॥ ७ ॥
“Is my father, King Dasharatha, well? And is there no illness with Rama or great-souled Lakshmana?
आर्या च धर्मनिरता धर्मज्ञा धर्मदर्शिनी । अरोगा चापि कौसल्या माता रामस्य धीमतः ॥ ८ ॥
“And the noble one, devoted to dharma, knowing dharma, seeing dharma, Kausalya, mother of wise Rama: is she in good health?
कच्चित्सुमित्रा धर्मज्ञा जननी लक्ष्मणस्य या । शत्रुघ्नस्य च वीरस्य सारोगा चापि मध्यमा ॥ ९ ॥
“Is Sumitra, who knows dharma, mother of Lakshmana and heroic Shatrughna, the middle queen, in good health too?
आत्मकामा सदा चण्डी क्रोधना प्राज्ञमानिनी । अरोगा चापि मे माता कैकेयी किमुवाच ह ॥ १० ॥
“Always selfish, fierce, quick to anger, proud of her cleverness: is my mother Kaikeyi in good health too? What did she say?”
एवमुक्तास्तु ते दूता भरतेन महात्मना । ऊचुः सम्प्रश्रितं वाक्यमिदं तं भरतं तदा ॥ ११ ॥
Spoken to so by great-souled Bharata, the messengers then said these polite words to Bharata:
कुशलास्ते नरव्याघ्र येषां कुशलमिच्छसि । श्रीश्च त्वां वृणुते पद्मा युज्यतां चापि ते रथः ॥ १२ ॥
“Those whose welfare you wish are well, tiger among men. Shri of the lotus chooses you; let your chariot be yoked.”
भरतश्चापि तान् दूतानेवमुक्तोऽभ्यभाषत । आपृच्छेऽहं महाराजं दूताः संत्वरयन्ति माम् ॥ १३ ॥
Spoken to so, Bharata said to those messengers: “I will take leave of the great king; the messengers are hurrying me.”
एवमुक्त्वा तु तान्दूतान्भरतः पार्थिवात्मजः । दूतैः संचोदितो वाक्यं मातामहमुवाच ह ॥ १४ ॥
Having said this to the messengers, Bharata, son of the lord of the earth, urged by the messengers, said to his maternal grandfather:
राजन्पितुर्गमिष्यामि सकाशं दूतचोदितः । पुनरप्यहमेष्यामि यदा मे त्वं स्मरिष्यसि ॥ १५ ॥
“King, urged by the messengers, I will go to my father’s side. I will come again when you remember me.”
भरतेनैवमुक्तस्तु नृपो मातामहस्तदा । तमुवाच शुभं वाक्यं शिरस्याघ्राय राघवम् ॥ १६ ॥
Spoken to so by Bharata, the king, his maternal grandfather, then said these kind words to him, kissing Raghava’s head:
गच्छ तातानुजाने त्वां कैकेयी सुप्रजास्त्वया । मातरं कुशलं ब्रूयाः पितरं च परंतप ॥ १७ ॥
“Go, dear child, I give you leave; Kaikeyi has a good son in you. Tell your mother and your father I wish them well, scorcher of foes;
पुरोहितं च कुशलं ये चान्ये द्विजसत्तमाः । तौ च तात महेष्वासौ भ्रातरु रामलक्ष्मणौ ॥ १८ ॥
“and the priest, and the other best of brahmanas, and those two great archers, dear child, your brothers Rama and Lakshmana.”
तस्मै हस्त्युत्तमांश्चित्रान्कम्बलानजिनानि च । अभिसत्कृत्य कैकेयो भरताय धनं ददौ ॥ १९ ॥
The Kekaya king, having honoured him, gave Bharata wealth: fine elephants, bright blankets and deerskins.
रुक्मनिष्कसहस्रे द्वे षोडशाश्वशतानि च । सत्कृत्य कैकयीपुत्रं केकयो धनमादिशत् ॥ २० ॥
Two thousand gold coins and sixteen hundred horses the Kekaya king, honouring Kaikeyi’s son, assigned as wealth.
तथामात्यानभिप्रेतान्विश्वास्यांश्च गुणान्वितान् । ददावश्वपतिः शीघ्रं भरतायानुयायिनः ॥ २१ ॥
And the lord of horses quickly gave Bharata ministers of his choice, trustworthy and virtuous, to follow him.
ऐरावतानैन्द्रशिरान्नागान्वै प्रियदर्शनान् । खराञ्शीघ्रान्सुसंयुक्तान्मातुलोऽस्मै धनं ददौ ॥ २२ ॥
His uncle gave him as wealth elephants of Airavata’s and Indra-shira’s lines, lovely to see, and swift donkeys, well trained.
अन्तः पुरेऽतिसंवृद्धान्व्याघ्रवीर्यबलान्वितान् । दंष्ट्रायुधान्महाकायाञ्शुनश्चोपायनं ददौ ॥ २३ ॥
And he gave him as a present dogs raised in the inner palace, very big-bodied, with the strength and courage of tigers, whose weapons were their teeth.
स दत्तं केकयेन्द्रेण धनं तन्नाभ्यनन्दत । भरतः कैकयीपुत्रो गमनत्वरया तदा ॥ २४ ॥
But Bharata, Kaikeyi’s son, took no pleasure in the wealth the Kekaya king had given him, in his haste to be gone.
बभूव ह्यस्य हृदते चिन्ता सुमहती तदा । त्वरया चापि दूतानाम् स्वप्नस्यापि च दर्शनात् ॥ २५ ॥
For a very great worry was then in his heart, from the haste of the messengers and from having seen the dream.
स स्ववेश्माभ्यतिक्रम्य नरनागाश्वसंवृतम् । प्रपेदे सुमहच्छ्रीमान् राजमार्गमनुत्तमम् ॥ २६ ॥
Passing from his own house, crowded with men, elephants and horses, the glorious one reached the great, unsurpassed royal road.
अभ्यतीत्य ततोऽपश्यदन्तः पुरमुदारधीः । ततस्तद्भरतः श्रीमानाविवेशानिवारितः ॥ २७ ॥
Passing beyond it, the noble-minded one then saw the inner palace; then glorious Bharata entered it unopposed.
स मातामहमापृच्छ्य मातुलं च युधाजितम् । रथमारुह्य भरतः शत्रुघ्नसहितो ययौ ॥ २८ ॥
Taking leave of his maternal grandfather and his uncle Yudhajit, Bharata mounted his chariot and went with Shatrughna.
रथान् मण्डलचक्रांश्च योजयित्वा परः शतम् । उष्ट्रगोऽश्वखरैर्भृत्या भरतं यान्तमन्वयुः ॥ २९ ॥
Yoking more than a hundred chariots with round wheels, the servants followed Bharata as he went, with camels, oxen, horses and donkeys.
बलेन गुप्तो भरतो महात्मा सहार्यकस्यात्मसमैरमात्यैः । आदाय शत्रुघ्नमपेतशत्रुर्गृहाद्ययौ सिद्ध इवेन्द्रलोकात् ॥ ३० ॥
Guarded by an army, with ministers equal to himself chosen by his grandfather, great-souled Bharata, free of enemies, taking Shatrughna, left the house like a siddha leaving the world of Indra.