Shloka 2.100.1
शततमः सर्गः — Rāma Questions Bharata on Rājadharma (Governance, Counsel, and Public Welfare)
जटिलं चीरवसनं प्राञ्जलिं पतितं भुवि।ददर्श रामो दुर्दर्शं युगान्ते भास्करंयथा।।।।
jaṭilaṃ cīravasanaṃ prāñjaliṃ patitaṃ bhuvi | dadarśa rāmo durdarśaṃ yugānte bhāskaraṃ yathā ||
Rāma beheld Bharata—his hair matted, clad in bark-robes—fallen upon the earth with folded hands, a sight as hard to bear as the sun at the world’s end.
Rama beheld Bharata with matted locks and robes of bark fallen down on the ground with folded hands like the Sun at the time of dissolution of the world. It was really difficult to look at him.
It underscores humility and remorse as dharmic responses to perceived wrongdoing: Bharata approaches not as a claimant to power but as a supplicant, prioritizing righteousness over entitlement.
In the forest, Rāma encounters Bharata in an extreme state of grief and self-abasement, indicating Bharata’s distress over the events that led to Rāma’s exile.
Bharata’s humility and penitential seriousness—expressed through ascetic appearance and reverential posture.