Valmiki Ramayana 2.105.6: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 105, Shloka 6
भरतस्य प्रार्थना · रामस्य कालधर्मोपदेशः
Bharata’s Petition and Rama’s Instruction on Time and Mortality
Spoken by Bharata to RamaSetting: Ayodhya
गतिं खर इवाश्वस्य तार्क्ष्यस्येव पतत्रिणः ।
अनुगन्तुं न शक्तिर्मे गतिं तव महीपते ॥६॥
gatiṃ khara ivāśvasya tārkṣyasyeva patatriṇaḥ |
anugantuṃ na śaktir me gatiṃ tava mahīpate ||6||
मैं तुम्हारे पीछे नहीं चल सकता। जैसे गधा घोड़े के साथ नहीं चल पाता। जैसे कोई चिड़िया गरुड़ के साथ नहीं उड़ पाती। मैं इतना केपेबल नहीं हूँ।
Sandhi Notes
- खर इवाश्वस्य → खरः इव अश्वस्य
- तार्क्ष्यस्येव → तार्क्ष्यस्य इव
- शक्तिर्मे → शक्तिः मे
O lord of the earth! as an ass cannot follow the pace of a horse or a bird, the pace of Tarkshya (Garuda), I do not have the capability to follow you.
The teaching
Humility includes honest appraisal of capacity; when responsibility exceeds one’s strength, seek rightful support rather than pretend competence.
Duties in tension
- Bharata’s duty to rule vs. his sense of inadequate capacity compared to Rāma
- Desire to follow Rāma’s path vs. practical inability to equal his dharmic course
- Ethical theme
- Rājadharma / nīti (prudential ethics)
- How it resolves
- Self-assessment used as persuasive appeal for Rāma’s return
For your practice
Bhāva of dāsya: acknowledging the Lord’s unmatched ‘gati’ and cultivating humility; supports surrender (śaraṇāgati) practice.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Adbhuta (wonder)
- Mood
- Self-effacing, awed, pleading
Themes
- Dharma
- Humility
- Maryada
- Fraternal reverence
- Ethics
- Itihasa
Recognition of differing adhikāra; surrendering egoic comparison and seeking the higher path through the exemplar.
Garuḍa/Tārkṣya as cosmic speed evokes the vastness of higher ‘gati’ beyond ordinary reach—suggestive of graded attainments.
- Bharata and Rama
- Younger brother confessing inability to match elder’s path (humble). Elder as exemplar/ideal (moral and royal) (admiring)
Mahābhārata: humility before a superior dharmic exemplar (various Yudhiṣṭhira-Bhīṣma dynamics); Purāṇic allusions to Garuḍa’s unmatched speed
Garuḍa (Tārkṣya) as Vedic/Purāṇic emblem of swift, transcendent movement
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Bharata repeatedly positions himself as incapable/undeserving compared to Rāma
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving
Descending contour to convey humility; soft emphasis on ‘tārkṣyasyeva’
FAQs
Dharma is paired with humility: Bharata acknowledges Rāma’s superior capacity and moral stature, implying rightful leadership should rest with the most qualified.
Bharata, trying to persuade Rāma to return, admits he cannot equal Rāma’s capability to lead.
Humility and sincerity—Bharata minimizes himself rather than asserting entitlement.
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