# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 75 — Bharata refuses royal honours

*He stops the morning music proclaiming him King, Vasiṣṭha calls the ministers, priests, commanders and guild representatives to assemble*

Portion: The expedition to bring Rāma back · Verses: 14 · Ref format: 2.75.<verse>

## Sequence

- At dawn the palace musicians and bards begin honoring Bharata as King (75.1–3)
- he stops them, declaring that he is not the King → he tells Śatrughna that the Kingdom has been left without direction by Kaikeyī's actions and Daśaratha's death (75.4–6)
- as the household weeps, Vasiṣṭha enters the assembly hall (75.7–9)
- he urgently summons priests, ministers, military leaders, and representatives of the guilds (75.10–11)
- the gathering fills the hall and welcomes Bharata (75.12–14).

## Verses

**2.75.1**  
tato nāndīmukhīṃ rātriṃ bharataṃ sūtamāgadhāḥ  
tuṣṭuvur vāgviśeṣajñāḥ stavair maṅgalasaṃhitaiḥ  
Then, through the night that ushers in a joyful dawn, the bards and panegyrists, masters of choice speech, praised Bharata with hymns filled with auspicious words.

**2.75.2**  
suvarṇakoṇābhihataḥ prāṇadad yāmadundubhiḥ  
dadhmuḥ śaṅkhāṃś ca śataśo vādyāṃś coccāvacasvarān  
The watch-drum, struck with a golden stick, resounded; and they blew conches by the hundreds and sounded instruments of high and low notes.

**2.75.3**  
sa tūrya ghoṣaḥ sumahān divam āpūrayann iva  
bharataṃ śokasaṃtaptaṃ bhūyaḥ śokair arandhrayat  
That very great clamor of instruments, as if filling the sky, pierced Bharata — already tormented with grief — yet again with fresh sorrows.

**2.75.4**  
tato prabuddho bharatas taṃ ghoṣaṃ saṃnivartya ca  
nāhaṃ rājeti cāpy uktvā śatrughnam idam abravīt  
Then Bharata, roused, had that clamor stopped, and saying 'I am no king,' spoke thus to Śatrughna:

**2.75.5**  
paśya śatrughna kaikeyyā lokasyāpakṛtaṃ mahat  
visṛjya mayi duḥkhāni rājā daśaratho gataḥ  
Behold, Śatrughna, the great harm Kaikeyī has done to the world: having laid these sorrows upon me, King Daśaratha has departed.

**2.75.6**  
tasyaiṣā dharmarājasya dharmamūlā mahātmanaḥ  
paribhramati rājaśrīr naur ivākarṇikā jale  
The royal fortune of that great-souled king of righteousness, rooted in dharma, now drifts about like a rudderless boat upon the water.

**2.75.7**  
ity evaṃ bharataṃ prekṣya vilapantaṃ vicetanam  
kṛpaṇaṃ ruruduḥ sarvāḥ sasvaraṃ yoṣitas tadā  
Seeing Bharata thus lamenting and beside himself, all the women then wept aloud, piteously.

**2.75.8**  
tathā tasmin vilapati vasiṣṭho rājadharmavit  
sabhām ikṣvākunāthasya praviveśa mahāyaśāḥ  
While he was lamenting thus, the greatly renowned Vasiṣṭha, knower of royal dharma, entered the assembly-hall of the lord of the Ikṣvākus.

**2.75.9**  
śāta kumbhamayīṃ ramyāṃ maṇiratnasamākulām  
sudharmām iva dharmātmā sagaṇaḥ pratyapadyata  
The righteous one, with his retinue, entered that lovely hall of gold, thronged with gems and jewels, as though entering the Sudharmā (the assembly-hall of the gods).

**2.75.10**  
sa kāñcanamayaṃ pīṭhaṃ parārdhyāstaraṇāvṛtam  
adhyāsta sarvavedajño dūtān anuśaśāsa ca  
He, the knower of all the Vedas, sat upon a golden seat covered with a priceless spread, and gave orders to the messengers:

**2.75.11**  
brāhmaṇān kṣatriyān yodhān amātyān gaṇaballabhān  
kṣipram ānayatāvyagrāḥ kṛtyam ātyayikaṃ hi naḥ  
'Bring quickly, without confusion, the brahmins, the kshatriyas, the warriors, the ministers, and the leaders dear to the guilds; for our business is urgent.'

**2.75.12**  
tato halahalāśabdo mahān samudapadyata  
rathair aśvair gajaiś cāpi janānām upagacchatām  
Then a great tumultuous din arose from the people approaching with chariots, horses, and elephants.

**2.75.13**  
tato bharatam āyāntaṃ śatakratum ivāmarāḥ  
pratyanandan prakṛtayo yathā daśarathaṃ tathā  
Then the subjects welcomed Bharata as he came, just as the immortals welcome Indra (Śatakratu), and just as they had welcomed Daśaratha.

**2.75.14**  
hrada iva timināgasaṃvṛtaḥ stimitajalo maṇiśaṅkhaśarkaraḥ  
daśarathasutaśobhitā sabhā sadaśaratheva babhau yathā purā  
Adorned by Daśaratha's son, the assembly-hall shone as of old, as if Daśaratha himself were present — like a lake with still waters, strewn with gems, conches, and pebbles, and filled with timi-fish and water-serpents.