Ayodhya Kaanda
87 - Dialogue between the sage Vasistha and Bharata; Bharata prepares for a journey to Citrakuta in order to bring Sri Rama back to Ayodhya
Chaupais
Description
My Guru (Vasistha) as all the world knows is an ocean of wisdom; the universe is like a plum in the palm of his hand*. Even he is making preparations for my coronation; when Fate is adverse, everyone else turns hostile. With the exception of Sri Rama and Sita no one in this world will say the plot did not have my approval. All this I must hear and endure with a cheerful heart; for wherever there is water mud must be there eventually. I shudder not to think that the world will call me vile; and I have little anxiety about the other world either. There is one terrible anguish that plagues my heart; it is that Sita and Rama are suffering hardships on my account. Laksmana has fully reaped the reward of his existence; discarding everything else, he has fixed his mind on Sri Rama's feet. As for myself I was born for Sri Rama's banishment; in vain do I lament, wretched that I am."