Sri:
SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,
Dear Smt. Ramanujam,
Thank you very much for sharing this excellent piece on Bharata.
Swami Desikan refers to Bharata with great reverence in many places
in the Padhuka Sahasram. Bharata's greatness is magnified by the
fact that for 14 years he unflinchingly rendered Kaimkaryam to the
Padhukas of Lord Rama (Satari Soori/Swami NammAzhwar as Swami
Desikan eloquently describes in the 10 delectable verses of samAkhya
paddhati of the Padhuka Sahasram)-PrathamOdharaNAya Bhakti BhAjAm.
The Padhukas in turn conferred upon Bharata all the royal honors
(since Bharata lived in the shadow of the Padhukas according to
Swami Desikan) that he had spurned on account of the fact that the
kingdom had been gained by the evil machinations of Kaikeyi and
Manthara.
Namo Narayana,
SriMuralidhara Dasan
--- In Oppiliappan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "sarojram18" <sarojram18@...>
wrote:
>
>
> 21. Bharatha sets out to forest
>
>
>
> After the funeral rites were over Vasishta asked Bharatha to
assume his
> role of king of Ayodhya to which he replied that he would not do
so and
> he wanted to go to forest and bring rama back and told the
minsters and
> the whole retinue and army to get ready to go to forest to bring
Rama in
> style.
>
>
>
> The whole army and the ministers, courtiers along with the three
queens
> accompanied Bharatha to forest and they reached the realm of Guha
near
> the bank of Ganga and Bharatha wanted the army and the animals to
take
> rest for the night so that they could cross the river the next day.
>
>
>
> Guha on seeing the great army and also the flag of the the king of
> Ayodhya knew that Bharatha had come there and he suspected that
Bharatha
> had come to kill Rama so that he could rule the kingdom without
> fear.Guha instructed all his men to stand ready to destroy the
army and
> Bharatha if he had come with an evil intention. He said Bharatha
and his
> army would cross the river only if they had come with goodwill
towards
> Rama.
>
>
>
> So saying Guha as per the protocol to receive a king went to
Bharatha
> with presents. Seeng him Sumanthra informed Bharatha of his
identity and
> said that he could show them the way to the place where Rama was.
> Bharatha welcomed him and asked him to tell us the way to the
hermitage
> of Bharadhvaja and also to provide them means of crossing the
river.
> Guha said that he would be glad to help them and expressed a doubt
> whether Bharatha meant to do any harm to Rama upon which poor
Bharatha
> was pained and exclaimed that what worse could happen to him than
the
> friends of Rama suspecting him and told Guha his real intention.
Guha
> rejoiced at his reply and prased him that no one caould equal him
in
> sacrifice and love for Rama.
>
>
>
> This scene is portrayed beautifully in Kamban.
>
>
>
> Bharatha in Kambaramayana goes to forest attired as a hermit in
bark
> garments and Guha, seeing the huge army, let out an angry outburst
and
> vowed to kill all of them suspecting that Bharatha had brought the
big
> army only to attack Rama. So saying he went and stood before
Bharatha
> with his bow and arrow and Sumanthra told Bharatha about Guha and
> Bharatha went to receive him. By the mere appearance of Bharatha
> reassured Guha that he was pure. Thus the Guha and Bharatha of
Kamban
> are both glorified by the poetry of Kamban, who says, describing
> Bharatha'a appearance and the reaction of Guha on seeing him.
>
>
>
> vaRkalaiyin udaiaanai maaSu adaindha meyyaanai
>
> naR kalai il madhi enna nagai izhandha mugatthaanai
>
> kal kaniyakkaniginRa thuyaraanai kaNNutraan
>
> vil kaiyininRu idai veezha vimmuttRu ninRu ozhindhaan
>
>
>
> Guha sees Bharatha wearing bark garment, with his body dust
covered, his
> face had lost its smile like the moon who had lost his luster, his
> sorrow visible to all was enough to melt even a stone. The bow of
Guha
> slipped from his hand to his side and he stood weeping.
>
>
>
> Then Guha thought,
>
> nambiyum en naayaganai okkinRaan; ayal ninraan
>
> nambiyaiyum okkinRaan; thavavedam thalai ninRaan
>
> thunbam oru mudivu illai dhisai nokki thozhuginRaan
>
> emperumaan pin piRandhaar izhaipparO pizhaiipu enRaan
>
>
>
> " Bharatha resembles my Lord and the other one(sathrughna)
resembles
> Lakshmana. He has put on a hermit's garb and looks grieved beyond
> measure and offers obeisance with folded hands to the direction
where
> Rama is. Will the younger brother of my Lord Rama do anything
> wrong?"
>
>
>
> Then Bharatha and Guha bowed down to one another and Guha asked
Bhartha
> the reason why he had come to forest and Bharatah told him that his
> father swerved from the tradition of his forefathers and he had
come to
> rectify it and take Rama back.
>
>
>
> Then Guha said the oft quoted words.
>
> thaai urai kondu thaadhai udhaviya dharaNi thannai
>
> theevinai enns neetthu chinthanai mugatthil thEkki
>
> pOyinai enRa pozhdhu pugazhinOi thanmai kandaal
>
> ayiram raamar nin kEzh aavaro theriyinammaa
>
>
>
> " You have abandoned the kingdom handed over to you as it were by
> your father on the words of your mother as though it is evil. You
have
> gone away with worry and anxiety displayed on your face. Your
glory is
> indeed so great that even thousand Ramas will not be your equal."
>
>
>
> Wjat Guha meant was that Rama abandoned the kingdonm because he was
> asked to do so which shows the character of Rama to be like a sage
> without desires. Moreover he obeyed his father and acted according
to
> dharma. But no one would have blamed Bharatha on the other hand,
in
> accepting the kingdom seeing that he was innocent of the intrigue
of
> Kaikeyi and was waiting for Rama to come back and then hand it
over to
> him. But he abandoned it as though it was evil and not only that
but he
> had put on a hermit's robes and was prepared to live in the forest
> instead of Rama, determined to make Rama accept the kingdome. Thus
he
> had risen even above Rama in glory. This denoted no intention on
the
> part of Guha to undermine Rama but it is to show how much more
difficult
> it was to resist the temptation of something offered ready on a
plate
> than to give up something which was denied.
>
>
>
> When the night came the army and others took rest, Bharatha was
torn
> with anguish. Valmiki describes his mental state in a picturesque
> manner and this is one of the instances when the poet Valmiki has
the
> upperhand to the narrator Valmiki.
>
>
>
> Valmiki likens the grief of Bharatha to the mount Himalayas,
> perspiration due to grief flowing from his pores as the snow
melted by
> the firerce heat of the sun and he was oppressed by the weight of
the
> mountain of grief whose caves were the thoughts of Rama, whose
minerals
> were the groans and sighs coming out of him, the meloncholy
thoughts of
> his own fate were the dense forest of trees on the mountain. His
sorrow
> and fatigue were the peaks of the mount. He used to swoon often
due to
> thr anguish which was unbearable and they are portrayed as the
wild
> beasts roaming on the forests of the mountain.
>
>
>
> Then Guha approached him and told him about Rama and Seetha lying
on the
> floor at the very spot where they were and about Lakshmana"s grief
> on seeing them like that and who said that he could not sleep
seeing
> Rama who is unconquerable even by devas and asuras lying on the
ground
> with the princess of Mithila.Then Guha said Lakshmana was afraid
that
> his father would not survive the separation and also Kousalya.
>
>
>
> Bharatha lamented tha fact that because of him Rama and Seetha had
to
> lie on the ground and he pointed out to his men the marks of the
two
> sleeping on the bed made of darbha grass, where the traces of Rama
> turning his side due to sleeplessness and the garment of Seetha
got
> stuck in the grass where some threads could be seen. Then he said
that
> he would matt his hair and sleep on the ground and eat only roots
like a
> hermit and he would live in the forest and make Rama go to Ayodhya
and
> accept the kingdom.
>
>
>
> Then the next day they crossed the river and reached the hermitage
of
> Bharadhvaja.
>
------------------------------------
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