Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 69, Shloka 15
भरतस्य दुःस्वप्नदर्शनम्
Bharata’s Ominous Dream
त्वरमाणश्च धर्मात्मा रक्तमाल्यानुलेपनः।रथेन खरयुक्तेन प्रयातो दक्षिणामुखः।।।।
tvaramāṇaś ca dharmātmā raktamālyānulepanaḥ | rathena kharayuktena prayāto dakṣiṇāmukhaḥ ||
法を守る王が急ぎ、赤き花鬘と赤き香油を身にまとい、驢馬に牽かせた車で南面して去ってゆくのを見た――まるで死の国へと駆り立てられるかのように。
Thereafter, I beheld that virtuous monarch bedecked with garlands made of red flowers and his body bedaubed with red sandal-paste, hurrying off southward on a chariot yoked with asses.
FAQs
Even a ‘dharmātmā’ is subject to mortality; dharma here is the duty of clear-eyed acceptance and timely action—responding truthfully to warning signs, protecting dependents, and placing righteousness above personal comfort.
Bharata’s dream presents the king moving southward on an inauspicious vehicle, a conventional sign of death, intensifying Bharata’s urgency and dread.
Bharata’s loyalty and filial concern: the dream’s focus on the king’s fate shows Bharata’s deep attachment and sense of duty toward his father and the realm.