25. INTRIGUE WASTED :

Now Bharata understood everything
and realised the enormity of the harm
wrought by his mother.



Overwhelmed by grief and near, he
could not control himself. At the thought
of what she had done and the eternal
infamy she had incurred, his grief grew
wild and he hurled cruel words at her.



"What have you done?" he cried. "Did
you ever hope to make me accept the
kingdom? Deprived of such a father and
such a brother, am I likely to care for
power? After causing the death of the
King and the banishment of Rama, you
ask me to take their place and rule the
land. This is like pouring oil into the fire
of my grief. How unfortunate was my
father to have chosen you for a wife!



Kausalya and Sumitra will also die of
grief. Oh, how could you bring yourself to
do this to Rama who was so devoted to
you? Revered mother Kausalya treated
you like her own blood-sister. How could
you think of plotting against her beloved
son? And did you not know how much I
loved Rama? Greed destroyed your
understanding. How else could you so
foolishly plan for my happiness? Even the
great King relied on Rama and
Lakshmana. How could you believe that
in their absence I could rule the kingdom?
And, even if I could, would I agree?
Never will your wish be fulfilled through
my cooperation. I can no longer regard
you as my mother. I cut myself off from
all relation with you and decline to regard
you as my mother. How could you ever
think of setting aside rule and custom and
getting a younger son crowned? Would
not the world revile us for all time? The
general law of kings and the tradition of
our family cannot be violated. I will not
carry out your wish. I shall go to the forest
and bring Rama back. I shall set the crown
on his head and rejoice in being his loyal
servant."



To understand Bharata's feelings, we
should keep in mind his innate noble
nature, his love for Rama, his grief for his
father and the sense of guilt and shame
that for his sake his mother had done this
grievous wrong. We should not weigh his
words in dry air and a chemical balance.
In such contexts, poetry flashes fire. One
sees it both in Valmiki and Kamban.



Bharata raised his voice and spoke
again: "Banish Rama indeed! It is you that
ought to be banished, cruel woman, who
have forsaken the path of dharma. So far
as you are concerned you may take it that
I am dead, for I would rather be dead than
be son to a murderess! Murderess of your
husband! You are not the daughter of the
good King Asvapati. You are a Rakshasi.



To what hell should you go, you, who
banished the only child of mother
Kausalya? What punishment would be too
great for the grief you have caused her?
Kamadhenu, the cow-mother, had
hundreds of thousands of children, yet she
shed tears at the sight of the suffering of
two bulls yoked to a plough and her tears
scalded Indra on his throne in high
Heaven. And Kausalya's only child you
sent to the forest, hoping thus that you and
I could be made happy! I shall do the
obsequies and go to the forest and fall at
the feet of Rama and bring him to his
kingdom. And then, to cleanse
myself of the sin and the shame you
have brought on me, I shall lead the life of
an ascetic in the Dandaka forest. What a
flood of sorrow have you let loose on the
earth? By what penitence, by what self 
mortification, can you redeem yourself? I
shall go myself at once to Rama and get
rid of my guilt by restoring the kingdom
to him."



Finding no relief for his anguish by
angry words, sighing like a young
elephant newly captured, hot tears-falling
from his eyes, he felt he could bear no
longer the sight of his mother and rushed
to Kausalya's apartment, there to find a
better place to give vent to his sorrow.
Thus did Kaikeyi's castle in the air go
up in smoke. She lay down on the floor
and wept. The most painful of all
reflections is that of a crime perpetrated in
vain.



Among the characters in the
Ramayana, Bharata is the perfect
embodiment of virtue. In the villages of
the North, the people celebrate an annual
festival for the episode of the meeting of
Rama and Bharata at Chitrakuta, which
they consider the most sanctifying part of
the Ramayana epic. There have been
through the ages great and noble souls
whose virtue shines eternally in the midst
of the sordid self-seeking of a sinful
world, as a beacon light to seekers of the
right path, and as a token of the god in
man.



Soon the news of Bharata's arrival
spread throughout the palace. Kausalya,
still laboring under her grief, heard this,
and was glad and told Sumitra, "Come, let
us go and meet Bharata." Hardly had they
taken a couple of steps when they saw
Bharata himself rushing wildly towards
them to plead for mercy.



Kausalya's first thought when she
heard of Bharata's arrival was that he had
hastened back to assume the fortune
which had come to him. Had not the
elders and ministers, led by Vasishtha,
decided to send for Bharata so that he
might perform his father's obsequies and
be crowned king? Hence, seeing Bharata,
Kausalya, her heart desolate with her loss
of husband and son, said in a low voice:
"Bharata, the kingship is waiting secured
for your sake by Kaikeyi. You need not
fear any let or hindrance from us. Take it,
and may all happiness be yours. Only one
boon I crave of you to let me join your
father on the funeral pyre."



These words were like stinging poison
in Bharata's ears. He fell at her feet and
clung to them, unable to speak.
Kausalya said again: "Oh Bharata, at
least take me where Rama is in the forest."



Unable to bear all these piteous words
of Kausalya and unable to speak, Bharata
fell into a swoon. After a while he sat up
and said: "Mother, why do you thus
torture me who am innocent? You know I
was far away and knew nothing of the
wicked things going on here. Do you not
know the love I bear for Rama? Would I
ever do such a thing to him? May all the
sins of the world descend on me if I had
the least notion of the evil brewing here! I
had nothing to do with it. I have no desire
to reap its fruit."



He raised his hands and recited all the
horrible sins that one could commit and
invoked on himself the punishments due
to them if he had any part in the plot.
In those days as now it was hard for a
son to prove that he knew nothing of a
scheme carried out by his mother for his
benefit. Bharata could only swear his
innocence again and again. He cared
nothing for kingdom or wealth or power
and it was a terrible torment to him that
Kausalya should think him capable of
greed for them at the expense of his
brother. Indeed such a thought was hardly
less cruel and unjust than Rama's exile!



He could never accept the crown which
was his beloved brother's birthright.
His passionate sincerity convinced
Kausalya of the injustice of her
suspicions, and her heart went out to him.
Tenderly she raised him from the ground
and took his head on her lap and caressed
him as though he were Rama himself.



"My dear son, my grief is doubled by
seeing the pain raging in your innocent
heart. What shall we do child? We are the
playthings of fate. May the reward of
goodness come to you in this world and
the next!"



Kausalya had not believed Bharata
privy to the plot, but she feared that he
would condone it and yield to the
temptation of its results. Now she was
convinced that Bharata's heart was
completely free from stain. Though her
own son had gone to the forest, she was
pleased that such another son had come to
her in his place.



Here, Kamban beautifully sings how
Kausalya shed tears of joy over Bharata
and embraced him imagining that Rama
himself had returned from the forest.
Kausalya said amidst her sobs: "Many
were your ancestors who attained fame.
You have surpassed them all in glory by
renouncing the kingship that has come to
you. You are indeed king among kings."
The Kausalya and Bharata portrayed
by Kamban embody a culture. May these
heroic figures and that culture live forever
in the land of Bharata!



The obsequies of the dead King were
duly performed. Vasishtha and other
learned men and elders offered grave
shastric consolation to Bharata and
Satrughna. Fourteen days after the King's
demise, the ministers called the Assembly
and addressed Bharata thus:



"The King has gone to the world
above. Rama and Lakshmana are in the
forest. The land is now without a king. It
is right that you should assume the rule at
our request. The preparations for the
coronation are all complete. The citizens
and ministers are awaiting your
acceptance. This is your kingdom lawfully
descended from your ancestors, It is for
you to be anointed and rule righteously
over us."



Bharata went with folded hands round
the materials gathered for the coronation
and said in grave tones to the assembled
elders:



"I do not consider it proper that you
should ask me thus to accept the kingdom.
According to the custom of our house, the
throne belongs to the eldest son. With all
respect to you, I have decided to go to the
forest and bring Rama back to Ayodhya
with Lakshmana and see that Rama is
crowned. Please get ready the men and
materials for this purpose. Prepare the
road for the journey. Let laborers be
mobilised for it. It is my final and
irrevocable decision not to accept the
crown."



Listening to the prince's words, the
whole assembly was beside itself with joy.
They applauded Bharata's suggestion. The
army and a big retinue were got ready to
accompany the prince to the forest.



Quickly an army of workers with their
tools went forward to prepare the road.
Men who knew the forest, pioneers
who could dig wells and canals, builders
of rafts and boats, carpenters and
engineers, worked enthusiastically,
because they were engaged in getting
beloved Rama back. Culverts were built,
trees felled, a broad road for the prince
and his retinue was soon laid. Ups and
downs were levelled, marshes drained,
resting-places for the army and facilities
for drinking water and all other
conveniences were soon made ready.



Though thus preparations were made
for Bharata's journey to the forest,
Vasishtha and the other ministers formally
summoned the Assembly again. They did
not give up their desire to get Bharata to
agree to be crowned. They sent
messengers to Bharata palace and invited
him to the Hall. They approached him
with music playing on many instruments.
All this pained him.



He stopped the musicians and sent the
messengers back and told Satrughna:
"Why should they still persist in
tormenting me when I have refused the
kingdom? This is the result of our
mother's intrigue. My father has gone to
Heaven leaving me to bear all this alone.
The land needs a king; without one it
drifts like a rudderless and derelict ship.
We must soon get Rama back."



The Assembly sat eagerly looking for
the entrance of the blameless prince. He
entered the Hall as the full moon rises in
the sky He bowed to the elders and sat
down.



Vasishtha said: "This kingdom has
been given to you by your father and your
brother Rama. Accept it and protect us
according to ancient custom."
Bharata's heart was far away with
Rama. Tears fell from his yes. The young
prince wept aloud in the midst of the royal
Assembly and in a voice struggling with
tears, he addressed words of respectful
reproach to the preceptors:



"How can you ask one of my race and
upbringing to usurp what belongs to
another far nobler and more worthy than
I? Can any son of Dasaratha possibly
dream of such iniquity? This kingdom and
I, and all else in it belong to Rama. He is
the eldest son, the noblest among us, a
lover of dharma, an equal to Dilipa and
Nahusha of old. He is the rightful king.
He is fit to be sovereign in the three
worlds. Standing here I pay my homage to
Rama there in the forest. He is the King,
not I."



The Assembly burst into tears of joy
when they heard Bharata speak thus.
And Bharata continued: "If I am unable
to persuade King Rama to agree, I shall
stay there performing penance. It is your
duty, O Elders, to use every means to
bring Rama back. I shall do all I can to
make Rama come back to Ayodhya and
make him King."



He then ordered Sumantra who was
standing near him to hasten the
preparations for going to the forest. The
city rejoiced in anticipation of Rama's
return, for all felt sure that nothing could
resist the force of Bharata's dutiful love.



Next :26. BHARATA SUSPECTED:


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