Ayodhya Kaanda
97 - Bharata takes a dip in the Mandakini and arrives at Citrakuta; Bharata and others meet one another, mourn the kingís death and perform his Sraddha (obsequies)
Chaupais
Description
Having performed His father's obsequies as prescribed in the Vedas the Lord, who was a sun as it were to the darkness of sins, became pure again. The Lord whose Name Itself is a fire to the cotton of sins and whose very thought is the root of all choice blessings, attained purity even as the heavenly stream is consecrated by invoking into it other sacred waters:* such is the verdict of holy men. When two days elapsed after the purification, Sri Rama affectionately said to the Guru: "My lord, all the people are sore distressed, living as they do on bulbs, roots, fruits and water alone. When I behold Bharata and his younger brother (Satrughna), the ministers and all my mothers, every minute that passes seems an age to me. Therefore, pray return to the city with all; for you are here and the king (my father) is in heaven (there is no one to look after the city). I have said too much and all this amounts to gross presumption on my part. Now, my lord, do what is proper."