Valmiki Ramayana 2.72.29: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 72, Shloka 29
भरतस्य मातृसदनगमनं कैकेय्या दारुणवृत्तान्तकथनं च
Bharata in Kaikeyi’s apartments: revelation of Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s exile
Spoken by Bharata to KaikeyiSetting: AyodhyāReturning to Ayodhyā after being away (from maternal uncle’s realm)
अम्ब केनात्यगाद्राजा व्याघिना मय्यनागते ।
धन्या रामादयस्सर्वे यैः पिता संस्कृत स्स्वयम् ॥२९॥
amba kenātyagād rājā vyādhinā mayy anāgate |
dhanyā rāmādayaḥ sarve yaiḥ pitā saṃskṛtaḥ svayam ||29||
माँ, राजा को कैसी बिमारी हो गई थी? मैं वापस भी नहीं आसका था। राम और बाकी सब बहुत भगवान भगवान है, उन्होंने ही बाप के अंतिम काम किए।
Sandhi Notes
- केन + अत्यगात् → केनात्यगात्
- मयि + अनागते → मय्यनागते
- संस्कृतः + स्वयम् → संस्कृतः स्वयम् (some recensions show gemination/visarga sandhi)
O mother! what ailment caused the king's death before I could return? How fortunate are Rama and others by whom the last rites of my father were performed !
The teaching
Even when personal duty is thwarted by circumstance, dharma is preserved when the family upholds saṃskāra; grief should not eclipse the continuity of righteous conduct.
Duties in tension
- Filial duty to be present for father’s last rites vs. circumstance of absence
- Personal grief vs. composure required for royal dharma
- Ethical theme
- Family duty (pitṛ-dharma) and royal propriety
- How it resolves
- Acceptance through recognition of rites already performed by rightful heirs
For your practice
Reflection on impermanence and honoring ancestors; cultivating humility when one’s intended service is missed.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Bereaved, bewildered, lamenting
Themes
- Dharma
- Ethics
- Śrāddha/antyeṣṭi duty
- Family responsibility
- Grief
Anityatā and kartavya: the jīva’s grief at missed karma mirrors the teaching that all saṃskāras occur within īśvara-niyati, yet dharma must be upheld without attachment.
Kaṭha Upaniṣad’s mṛtyu-tattva (inevitability of death) and the turn from personal loss toward dharma (saṃskāra) as stabilizing order.
- Bharata and Kausalya
- Son-to-queen-mother (addressing as "amba") (grief-stricken appeal)
- Bharata and Dasharatha
- Son-father (bereavement, longing) (sorrow and disbelief)
- Rama and Dasharatha
- Son-father (antyeṣṭi performer) (dutiful reverence)
- Bharata and Rama
- Younger brother acknowledging elder’s dutiful role (mixed gratitude and pain)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.72 (Bharata’s lament on arrival); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.70-2.71 (news and approach to the palace)
Gṛhya-sūtra traditions on antyeṣṭi and putra-kartavya; Mahābhārata (Śānti/Anuśāsana) discussions on pitṛ-ṛṇa and śrāddha
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Daśaratha’s death and cremation sequence (2.64-2.66 approx.)
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving
Mandra-niṣāda to madhyama glide, with kampita on karuṇa phrases
FAQs
Dharma of filial obligation: performing a parent’s last rites is a sacred duty; Bharata acknowledges its importance even amid personal sorrow.
Bharata, returning late, learns his father has died and asks the cause; he notes that Rama and others completed the funeral duties.
Bharata’s integrity and absence of jealousy—he calls others ‘fortunate’ for fulfilling the duty he could not.
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