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||
کیکئی کا بیٹا ایک عظیم پہاڑ جیسے غم کے نیچے دب گیا: اس کی چٹانیں اُس کے گہرے دھیان کی سختی تھیں، اس کی دھاتیں اُس کی بھاری آہیں، اس کے درختوں کے جھنڈ اُس کی درماندگی، اس کی بلند چوٹیاں غم و تھکن، اس کے بے شمار جاندار بے خودی، اور اس کے بانس و دوا دار بوٹیاں جلتی ہوئی تپشِ دل کی اذیت تھیں۔
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.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.