Shloka 6.127.3
भरद्वाजाश्रम-समागमः / Meeting Bharadvaja at the Hermitage (Homeward Blessings)
एवमुक्तस्तुरामेणभरद्वाजोमहामुनिः ।।6.127.3।।प्रत्युवाचरघुश्रेष्ठंस्मितपूर्वंप्रहृष्टवत् ।
tvāṃ purā cīra-vasanaṃ praviśantaṃ mahāvanam || 6.127.5 ||
strī-tṛtīyaṃ cyutaṃ rājyād dharma-kāmaṃ ca kevalam |
padātiṃ tyakta-sarvasvaṃ pitur vacana-kāriṇam || 6.127.6 ||
sarva-bhogaiḥ parityaktaṃ svarga-cyutam ivāmaram |
dṛṣṭā tu karuṇā-pūrvaṃ mamāsīd samitiñjayaḥ || 6.127.7 ||
kaikeyī-vacane yuktaṃ vanya-mūla-phalāśinam |
Formerly, when I saw you—clad in bark garments—entering the great forest, exiled from the kingdom, going as the third with your wife, seeking only dharma, walking on foot, having abandoned everything and acting solely to fulfill your father’s word, renouncing all comforts like a god fallen from heaven, living on forest roots and fruits in obedience to Kaikeyī’s demand—then, O conqueror in battle, compassion first arose in me.
When Rama had spoken that way to the great sage, Bharadwaja was delighted and with a smiling look replied.
Dharma and satya are upheld through fidelity to one’s pledged duty: Rāma accepts exile to honor his father’s word, showing that truthfulness and righteous obligation outweigh personal comfort and power.
Bharadvāja recalls Rāma’s earlier exile—his austere forest life under Kaikeyī’s demand—and contrasts it with the present return after victory, expressing the compassion that Rāma’s sacrifice inspired.
Rāma’s satya-vrata (commitment to truth and promises) and tyāga (renunciation), which elicit a sage’s compassion and admiration.