Valmiki Ramayana 2.71.47: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 71, Shloka 47
भरतस्य अयोध्याप्रत्यागमनम् · Bharata’s Return Journey and the Distant Sight of Ayodhya
बहूनि पश्यन्मनसोऽप्रियाणि यान्यन्यदा नास्य पुरे बभूवुः ।
अवाक्छिरा दीनमना नहृष्टः पितुर्महात्मा प्रविवेश वेश्म ॥४७॥
bahūni paśyanmanaso'priyāṇi yānyanyadā nāsya pure babhūvuḥ |
avākchirā dīnamanā nahṛṣṭaḥ piturmahātmā praviveśa veśma ||47||
भरतः महात्मा बहूनि अप्रियाणि दृष्ट्वा यानि पुरे न कदाचित् आसन् अवाक् शिरा दीनमना हृष्टिहीनः पितुः वेश्म प्रविश्यति।
Having witnessed many unpleasant things that had never happened before, the magnanimous Bharata who was looking cheerless and dejected entered his father's palace with his head bent down. इत्यार्षे श्रीमद्रामायणे वाल्मीकीय आदिकाव्ये अयोध्याकाण्डे एकसप्ततितमस्सर्गः।। Thus ends the seventyfirst sarga in Ayodhyakanda of the holy Ramayana, the first epic composed by sage Valmiki.
FAQs
The verse illustrates the profound dharma of filial devotion (pitru-bhakti) and the moral weight of righteous grief. Bharata's dejection upon entering his father's palace reflects his deep reverence for Dasharatha and his rejection of any claim to the throne that came through questionable means. His conduct exemplifies how a dharmic individual responds to loss and moral crisis, with humility, not ambition.
Bharata, who had been summoned from his maternal uncle's kingdom, returns to Ayodhya only to discover that his father Dasharatha has died, his brother Rama has been exiled, and the kingdom is in mourning. As he approaches the palace, he witnesses numerous ill omens and signs of distress throughout the city. Overwhelmed by grief and foreboding, he enters his father's palace with head bowed in sorrow.
The verse emphasizes Bharata's virtue of 'mahātmā' (great-souled nature) and his profound sense of dharma. Despite being the beneficiary of his mother Kaikeyi's machinations, Bharata shows no joy or ambition. His dejection, bowed head, and cheerless demeanor reveal his genuine love for his father and his moral rejection of the circumstances that brought him to power. This establishes Bharata as a paragon of selfless devotion and ethical integrity.
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