Valmiki Ramayana 2.85.19-20: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 85, Shlokas 19-20
भरत-गुहसंवादः
Bharata and Guha: Trust, Hospitality, and the Burden of Grief
ध्याननिर्धरशैलेन विनिश्श्वसितधातुना ।
दैन्यपादपसंघेन शोकायासाधिशृङ्गिणा ॥१९॥
प्रमोहानन्तसत्त्वेन सन्तापौषधिवेणुना ।
आक्रान्तो दुःखशैलेन महता कैकयीसुतः ॥२०॥
dhyānanirdharaśailena viniśśvasitadhātunā |
dainyapādapasaṅghena śokāyāsādhiśṛṅgiṇā ||19||
pramohānantasattvena santāpauṣadhiveṇunā |
ākrānto duḥkhaśailena mahatā kaikayīsutaḥ ||20||
ധ്യാനമെന്ന അഖണ്ഡശിലകളാൽ ദൃഢമായും, നിശ്വാസമെന്ന ധാതുക്കളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞും, ദൈന്യമെന്ന വൃക്ഷസമൂഹങ്ങളാൽ മൂടപ്പെട്ടും, ശോകവും ക്ഷീണവും എന്ന ഉന്നതശിഖരങ്ങളാൽ ഉയർന്നും; പ്രമോഹമെന്ന അനന്തജീവികളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞും, സന്താപമെന്ന ഔഷധികളും മുളങ്കാടുകളും ഉള്ള—അത്തരം മഹാദുഃഖപർവ്വതം കൈകേയീപുത്രൻ ഭരതനെ പൂർണ്ണമായി കീഴടക്കി।
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.
FAQs
The verse illustrates how devotion to dharma can produce profound inner turmoil when one is linked to adharma (Kaikeyī’s actions); Bharata suffers because he cannot accept unrighteous gain.
As night deepens, the narration turns inward to Bharata’s state: he is mentally overrun by grief, described through an elaborate mountain-metaphor.
Moral sensitivity and remorse without guilt: though not the doer of wrong, Bharata feels crushed by the consequences and seeks to restore truth and right order.
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