Shloka 2.85.19
भरत-गुहसंवादः (Bharata and Guha: Trust, Hospitality, and the Burden of Grief)
ध्याननिर्धरशैलेन विनिश्श्वसितधातुना।दैन्यपादपसंघेन शोकायासाधिशृङ्गिणा।।2.85.19।।प्रमोहानन्तसत्त्वेन सन्तापौषधिवेणुना।आक्रान्तो दुःखशैलेन महता कैकयीसुतः।।2.85.20।।
prasṛtas sarvagātrebhyaḥ svedaṁ śokāgnisambhavam |
yathā sūryāṁśusantapto himavān prasṛto himam ||2.85.18||
Sweat, born of the fire of grief, streamed from all his limbs—just as the Himālaya, heated by the sun’s rays, melts its ice and lets it flow down.
Bharata, son of Kaikeyi was stricken by a lofty mountain of grief. The cavityless rocks of that mountain were his contemplation, the minerals were his sighs, the multitude of trees were his desolation, peaks were his fatigue and mental distress, the unlimited number of animals were his stupor, the bamboo tree was his sorrow.
Dharma is shown as lived experience: the body itself responds to moral anguish; Bharata’s distress springs from devotion to what is right.
Bharata’s grief manifests physically; the poet describes sweat pouring forth through a Himalayan melting-ice simile.
Sincerity and depth of feeling—Bharata’s commitment to Rama and righteousness is not performative but visceral.