Ayodhya Kaanda
98 - Hospitality of the foresters towards Bharata and his party; Kaikeyi's remorse
Chaupais
Description
"You have come to this forest as our welcome guests; but we are not lucky enough to be fit for any service to you. What can we offer you noble sirs ? Fuel and leaves are the only tokens of a Kirata's friendship; and our greatest service is that we do not steal and remove your utensils and clothes. We are unfeeling creatures taking others' life, and are crooked by nature, wicked, evil-minded and low-born. Our days and nights are spent in sinful pursuits and yet we have no cloth to cover our loins and get no food enough to fill our belly. How could we possibly have ever dreamt of entertaining pious sentiments but for the virtue of having seen the Delighter of Raghus ? Ever since we had the good fortune of gazing on our Lord's lotus feet our terrible woes and evils have disappeared." The citizens were overwhelmed with emotion to hear these words and began to extol the good fortune of those foresters