Valmiki Ramayana 2.97.9-11: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 97, Shlokas 9-11
भरतागमनशङ्कानिवारणम् / Dispelling Suspicion about Bharata’s Arrival
Chitrakuta Encampment
Spoken by Rama to LakṣmaṇaSetting: Ayodhya (as referenced)Bharata returning to Ayodhya and then coming out to the forest to see Rama (implied)
मन्येऽहमागतोऽयोध्यां भरतो भ्रातृवत्सलः ।
मम प्राणात्प्रियतरः कुलधर्ममनुस्मरन् ॥९॥
श्रुत्वा प्रव्राजितं मां हि जटावल्कलधारिणम् ।
जानक्यासहितं वीर त्वया च पुरुषर्षभ ॥१०॥
स्नेहेनाऽक्रान्तहृदय श्शोकेनाकुलितेन्द्रियः ।
द्रष्टुमभ्यागतो ह्येष भरतो नान्यथाऽगतः ॥११॥
manye ’ham āgato ’yodhyāṃ bharato bhrātṛ-vatsalaḥ |
mama prāṇāt priyataro kula-dharmam anusmaran ||9||
śrutvā pravrājitaṃ māṃ hi jaṭā-valkala-dhāriṇam |
jānakyā-sahitaṃ vīra tvayā ca puruṣarṣabha ||10||
snehena ’krānta-hṛdayaḥ śokenākuliten-driyaḥ |
draṣṭum abhyāgato hy eṣa bharato nānyathāgataḥ ||11||
अहं मन्ये भ्रातृवत्सलो भरतः कुलधर्ममनुस्मरन् मम प्राणात्प्रियतरोऽयोध्यां आगतः। जटावल्कलधारिणं मां जानक्यासहितं तथा त्वया सह, हे पुरुषर्षभ, प्रव्राजितं श्रुत्वा स्नेहेनाक्रान्तहृदयः शोकाकुलितेन्द्रियश्च द्रष्टुमेवाभ्यागतोऽयं भरतो नान्यथागतः।
Sandhi Notes
- मन्येऽहम् → मन्ये + अहम्
- आगतोऽयोध्यां → आगतः + अयोध्याम्
- प्राणात्प्रियतरः → प्राणात् + प्रियतरः
- कुलधर्ममनुस्मरन् → कुलधर्मम् + अनुस्मरन्
- स्नेहेनाऽक्रान्तहृदयः → स्नेहेन + आक्रान्तहृदयः
- शोकेनाकुलितेन्द्रियः → शोकेन + आकुलितेन्द्रियः
- द्रष्टुमभ्यागतः → द्रष्टुम् + अभ्यागतः
- ह्येष → हि + एषः
- नान्यथाऽगतः → न + अन्यथा + आगतः
O best among men, O valiant one! I think Bharata who is affectionate towards hisbrothers and who is dearer to me than my life, must have returned to Ayodhya and has heard that I had been exiled along with you and Janaki, wearing barks and matted locks. Remembering the duties of the race with an afflicted mind and with agitated senses he has come here to see me. He has not come with any other intention.
The teaching
Judge kin by their dharmic intent; love and grief can motivate righteous action without ambition.
Duties in tension
- Bharata’s royal duty to stabilize the kingdom vs. filial/fraternal duty to honor Rama’s rightful position and dharma
- Rama’s duty to keep father’s word (exile) vs. compassion for Bharata’s grief
- Ethical theme
- Rāja-dharma vs. kula-dharma
- How it resolves
- Intent-clarification and trust; prioritizing dharma over suspicion
For your practice
Cultivates śraddhā in the purity of the righteous; encourages compassion toward grief-driven actions.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Yearning, grief-struck, fraternal
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Maryada
- Itihasa
- Ethics
External renunciation (jaṭā-valkala) as sign of inner vairāgya; yet dharma continues through right intention.
Echo of the ideal of tyāga without hatred—renunciation undertaken for dharma, not escapism.
- Rama and Bharata
- Brothers; Rama affirms Bharata’s fraternal devotion and purity of motive (affectionate). Younger brother seeking elder; motivated by love and grief (devotional)
- Bharata and Lakshmana
- Brothers; Rama includes Lakshmana as co-exile, implying Bharata’s concern extends to him (concerned)
- Bharata and Sita
- Sister-in-law; compassion for her hardship implied (compassionate)
- Rama and Sita
- Husband-wife; shared exile referenced (tender)
- Bharata and Ayodhya
- Returning prince to capital; locus of royal duty and kula-dharma (solemn)
Valmiki Ramayana Ayodhya-kanda: Bharata’s lament and refusal of kingdom (later in 2.98–2.99 thematic continuation); Rāmacaritamānasa Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Bharata’s prema and meeting with Rama (parallel episode)
Vedic ideal of ṛta/dharma upheld through truth and restraint (general)
Ayodhya-kanda: Rama’s acceptance of exile and ascetic marks (earlier descriptions of jaṭā-valkala)
Anuṣṭup
Narrative
Mandra (low register)
FAQs
Rama upholds dharma through charitable interpretation and truth-seeking: he refuses to assume malice in Bharata, grounding judgment in family-duty (kula-dharma) and in a satya-oriented reading of motives.
Rama explains to Lakshmana that Bharata’s arrival is driven by love and grief after learning of Rama’s exile with Sita and Lakshmana.
Rama’s fairness and compassion (non-suspiciousness), and Bharata’s fraternal devotion (bhrātṛ-vātsalya).
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