Shloka 2.85.20
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।।
pramohānantasattvena santāpauṣadhiveṇunā |
ākrānto duḥkhaśailena mahatā kaikayīsutaḥ || 2.85.20 ||
Bharata, Kaikeyī’s son, was overrun by a great mountain of grief—its countless creatures were his stupor, and its bamboo-groves were remedies for burning anguish that only seemed to heal, yet ceaselessly fed his torment.
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.
The verse frames Bharata’s inner suffering as the cost of righteousness: his grief arises from loyalty to Rama and distress at the injustice done to him. In the Ramayana, such sorrow is not weakness but a sign of moral sensitivity aligned with dharma and truth.
After learning of Rama’s exile and Daśaratha’s death, Bharata is emotionally overwhelmed. The poet describes his condition through an extended metaphor: grief as a vast mountain that engulfs him.
Bharata’s integrity and devotion to satya and dharma—his conscience is so strong that he is ‘seized’ by grief rather than seeking advantage from Rama’s misfortune.