Bharata: The Ascetic King

Bharata is disillusioned yet again. His brother, Rama the ideal man, Maryada Purushottam, is making yet another grotesque demand. Sita Devi has to prove her purity now, years after the Agni Pariksha she arranged for herself long ago in Lanka itself. Now, when she has been living for years far away from Rama with her two sons Luva and Kusha in the paternal care of no less a saint than Valmiki himself! What has happened to Rama?

Bharata sits on the bank of the Sarayu with tears welling up in his eyes. Give me an answer, Sarayu, he said.

Sarayu accepted Bharata’s tears too. She was used to absorbing tears. How many times has Rama come and sat upon this very same bank and wept too? Life is sorrow, Sarayu muttered to Bharata. Even if you are royal descendants of divinity itself.

Rama had brought the children Luva and Kusha to Ayodhya on the day of the Ashvamedha Yagna which he was conducting in order to reaffirm his sovereignty and legitimacy over his kingdom. He didn’t know they were his sons. He heard them singing his story on the street outside the palace.

A golden Sita sat beside Rama: a lifeless statue made of gold. The real Sita was sitting on the bank of the Tamasa River near Valmiki’s hut. Ashvamedha Yagna required the presence of the queen with the king. Sita was Rama’s only wife. He loved her. But he tested her too many times. He abandoned her after all that. And then kept a gold statue by his side. Ritual. Why did Rama reduce love to a ritual? Bharata asked.

Sarayu wept in response. Her tears were Bharata’s tears too. Rama’s tears too. Sita’s too. Life’s tears, Sarayu murmured.

Luva and Kusha started singing the song that Valmiki had taught them. It was the story of Rama and Sita, their love, and the ordeals they went through because of Manthara first and then Ravana. The boys sang mellifluously.

Rama understood that the boys were his own sons. The real Sita was brought immediately to the palace.

Bharata was ecstatic to see his divine sister-in-law looking resplendent in spite of the desolation that gleamed in her eyes. He bent and touched her feet.

And then he was rattled.

Rama wanted Sita to prove her purity yet again.

रामोऽहमस्मि भद्रं ते यथार्थं कथयामि ते ।

जनवादभयाद् देवि त्वां पुनः पर्यतिष्ठहम् ॥

The fear of public opinion made Rama demand yet another fire-test from Sita.

Bharata asked the earth to split and devour him.

Is this the same Maryada Purushottam whose sandals I placed on the throne, acknowledging my unworthiness to rule as long as he lives? I gave up power, reputation, public approvals and approbations, all of which could have been mine. I gave up Ayodhya itself and lived in Nandigram. And I governed Ayodhya as Rama would govern it. I was a mere shadow of Rama who considered himself unworthy to untie the strap of his sandals. I even distanced myself from my mother because of my admiration for your virtues, dear Rama, my brother, my Lord. And here you are, asking Sita Devi to prove her purity yet again. Why are you doing this, Rama?

Why is he doing this? Bharata asked the Sarayu.

The Sarayu absorbed Bharata’s tears too. But she had no answer to Bharata’s last question: What did all my asceticism amount to in the end?

You will be recognised one day as the ideal king. Did he hear the Sarayu say that? For the ideal king, the citizens are the most important entities. You learnt that from Rama. Give Rama that credit. Yours was the first Rama Rajya in the cosmos, dear Bharata.

You have also learnt that true love is not about possession. You couldn’t be with Rama for long physically. The person you loved so much was always far away from you. In exile first. Now he is leaving you and everyone by walking into the Sarayu.

The grandeur of Ayodhya, the sound of conch shells in battle, the grief of exile, the victories… all fade like a dream at dawn. You hold on to the world, yet it slips through your fingers like the grains of sand on my bank.

Bharata was actually holding some sand in his fist and the grains were slipping out slowly. He kept looking at the Sarayu.

Rama’s Ayodhya is coming to its end, Bharata realised. The earth swallowed Sita Devi. The Sarayu carried Rama across to Vaikuntha. I can see Lakshmana and Shatrughna, and, oh, the entire Ayodhya, walking into the Sarayu. Into the Sarayu. Following their beloved king into eternity, the only real Rama Rajya.

It is possible to create Rama Rajya here on earth, Sarayu whispers. Or, is it an illusion? Bharata is not sure. Live righteously, love selflessly, surrender completely – that’s it. You have Rama Rajya.

I tried my best to create that Rajya here in Ayodhya, Bharata said to himself as he walked into the Sarayu, following everyone else of the kingdom.

That’s enough, Sarayu whispered. You did your best. That’s enough, dear Bharata. 

PS. I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. This series will look at the Ramayana from various angles.

Tomorrow: Chitrakoot: The Antithesis of Ayodhya

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