Ayodhya Kaanda
100 - Dialogue between Sri Rama, Bharata and others
Chaupais
Description
With Lord Siva as my witness I speak the truth in good faith, Bharata: the earth is being sustained by you. Pray do not indulge in wrong hypotheses about yourself for nothing, my darling; hatred and love cannot be disguised even if one tries to conceal them. Birds and beasts draw close to hermits, while they run away at the very sight of a hunter who torments them. Even beasts and birds can distinguish between a friend and a foe, to say nothing of the human body, which is a storehouse of virtue and knowledge. I know you full well, dear brother; but what am I to do ? There is great perplexity in my mind. The king (our father), you know, kept his word and abandoned me; nay, he gave up his life in order to keep his vow of love. I feel perturbed in my mind if I proceed to violate his word; and my scruple on your account is even greater. On top of it my preceptor has given his command to me. In any case I am prepared to do precisely what you suggest."