Bharat felt guilty without any guilt on his part. He would have loved to assist Ram in ruling the Koshala kingdom rather than becoming the ruler himself. He had cussed his mother, Kaikeyi, for her wile in grabbing the throne in his name. To Ram’s mother, Kaushalya, he had approached tearfully to assure her of his fidelity towards his older brother. Even though the kingdom had become headless because of Raja Dashrath’s demise and Ram banishment, Bharat had turned down Guru Vashisht’s plea to occupy the empty throne. Nevertheless, he did issue one royal command to all those who mattered: they should follow him to the forest and bring back Shri Ram. And they obeyed him in letter and spirit.
The first thing for them to do was construct a highway from Ayodhya to the bank of Ganga – a distance of some 120 kilometers. Because Prince Bharat expected that not only the army and the royal household, but a substantial chunk of population would also be following him, camps had also to be laid and wells dug enroute. For that purpose,surveyors, water diviners, wood-cutters, carpenters, cooks, leather-workers, road sentries and a whole lot of diverse artisans were deployed. The project was completed at top speed, thanks to the zeal and vigour of the workforce. Rishi Balmiki thus describes the completed highway and the stopovers erected by its side –
The stopovers on the highway looked as grand as the Indrapuri – the dwellings of devas. They had trenches dug on all the four sides, with rubble piled high around them. Statuettes carved out of blue sapphire decorated the interior of the tents. Intersecting lanes and roads lent exquisite beauty to them. These camps, comprising royal dwellings and places of worship, were fenced by whitewashed walls. Wide roads were laid everywhere. High perches for pigeons gave them a graceful look.
– Balmiki Ramayan, Ayodhya Kand, Canto 80 (xviii-xx)
Then, one fine morning, Prince Bharat climbed into a magnificent chariot and began his journey to meet Ram. Shatrughan was with him, as were the three queen-mothers, Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. Preceding him were ministers and purohits in their dazzling chariots. Behind the prince marched nine thousand elephants, royally girt. Then followed fully armed warriors riding sixty thousand chariots and another lakh cavalry men astride their magnificent horses. There were bullock-carts as well, carrying diverse camp-followers such as washermen, tailors, keepers of cowsheds, acrobats with their women, learned Brahmins and sundry others.
The royal cavalcade halted at Shringverpur. There lived old Guh, the chief of boatsmen and Ram’s devoted friend. He was astonished at the massive assemblage that had descended on his territory. He could make out Bharat’s presence because of the distinctive flag flying on the mast of his chariot. Why had the prince come at the head of such a large force? Was it his intention to kill Ram and everyone else who stood for him? Guh made up his mind to put a strong defence against what he thought was an invading army. He spoke to his men decisively –
“We have five hundred boats. Let a hundred sailors – fully equipped for the battle – sit ready in each one of the boats….If Bharat’s intention towards Ram is found satisfactory, only then shall his army be allowed untrammelled to go across the Ganga.”
The warriors were to stand guard on the river bank the whole day and spend the night also in a defensive position. Ample provisions were available for them on the boats. Yet, Guh was a pragmatic man. He did not want to take an unnecessary aggressive posture before the Koshala army.
Guh called for some sugar-candy, honey and fruit-crush to be given as presents to the Ayodhya prince and went alone to see him. Sumantra briefed Bharat about him, counselling him to meet the elderly man as he was a friend of Ram’s and would prove an expert guide in the difficult terrain. The meeting was quite friendly and alleyed Guh’s fears. He extended an invitation for the whole army to stay with him overnight. Bharat politely asked him instead to be led to Muni Bharadwaj’s ashram, and the latter assured him that he would depute his ablest men who would take him there.
Muni Bharadwaj was a much-respected figure of his time. Introducing himself and the three queen-mothers that accompanied him, Bharat felt it necessary to explain to the sage the circumstances that had brought him there. Bharadwaj assured him that he understood his noble intentions. Having enjoyed the lavish hospitality that the muni extended to him and to each and every one of his entourage that night, Bharat respectfully took leave of him in the morning to proceed to Chitrakoot.
The generally serene environment of the jungle was disturbed by the noisy onslaught of Prince Bharat’s columns. The Kaushal army, in Rishi Balmiki’s inimitable words “covered a great part of the earth in the same manner as the ominous clouds cover the sky during the rainy season.” Matriarchs of elephants ran away with their herds. Bears and deer of diverse kinds went into shock. Bharat commanded his soldiers to spread out in the jungle and find where his brothers and sister-in-law were staying. Soon enough, the sentries reported to him the sight of a column of smoke. Bharat ordered the troops to halt, and himself advanced in that direction with Sumantra and Dhriti.
While he was advancing with his companions towards Ram’s ‘Parnshala’, Ram himself was having a pleasant walk with Sita in the beautiful surrounds. Noticing the huge commotion, he asked Lakshman to find out what the cause was. Lakshman suspected that they were under attack. He climbed up a nearby tree and saw a huge army standing not far off. On a closer look he could make out Bharat’s flag. Agitatedly, he told Ram that Bharat had come with his army to finish them off. Then he discerned the faces of both Bharat and Shatrughan.
Losing his cool, Lakshman exclaimed to Ram –
Kari kumantrusaajisamaaju/ Aaye kareia kanatakraju//
Koti prakaarkal pikutilaee/Aae dal batoridou bhai//
Nursing evil thoughts in their minds and roping in the society (with the intention) of having a trouble-free reign, framing myriads of stratagems and amassing the whole army, have the two brothers (Bharat and Shatrughan) arrived.
Ramcharitmanas, Ayodhya Kand, 227(iii)
Furious Lakshman came into his fiery form. Knotting his hair tightly on his head, he adopted a shooting position and was about to shoot Bharat when Ram stopped him from committing the gravest error. “Darkess might engulf the sun,” Ram said to Lakshman in his calm and confident voice, “but Bharat can never get intoxicated with power.”
‘Bharat milan’ – Bharat’s reunion with Ram – is a must in every Ram Leela. The scene, celebrating the ideal of fraternal bonding, never fails to move the audience. Yet, the question is: why did Bharat have to march with the whole army on an occasion which was of a very personal nature? He could have taken along Shatrughan and the queen-mothers at the most.
Good literature throws up questions for readers to ponder on. And this is one such.
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