Bharata Warns That the Earth Would Sink beneath His Crown
Ayodhya Kanda, Chaupai 179
Doha 179 · Movement 1 of 2
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Bharata asks the assembly to believe his truth: the kingdom requires a righteous ruler. If they force sovereignty upon him, the earth itself will sink toward the netherworld beneath the weight of that wrong.
Who could be a greater dwelling of sin than the one for whose sake Sita and Ram endure exile? Dasharatha gave the forest to Ram, then died in separation, while Bharata remains alive, listening consciously to a crown being arranged around the calamity.
He contrasts pure Ram, untouched by worldly pleasure, with the greedy image he fears the world will see in Kaikeyi's son. His surviving heart seems harder than a thunderbolt. To accept the throne would make public authority rest upon the very shame that love cannot bear.
Bharata sees the offered crown as a weight so unrighteous that the patient earth itself could not remain beneath it.
Read the passage from the Manas
कहउँ साँचु सब सुनि पतिआहू। चाहिअ धरमसील नरनाहू।। मोहि राजु हठि देइहहु जबहीं। रसा रसातल जाइहि तबहीं।। मोहि समान को पाप निवासू। जेहि लगि सीय राम बनबासू।। रायँ राम कहुँ काननु दीन्हा। बिछुरत गमनु अमरपुर कीन्हा।। मैं सठु सब अनरथ कर हेतू। बैठ बात सब सुनउँ सचेतू।। बिनु रघुबीर बिलोकि अबासू। रहे प्रान सहि जग उपहासू।। राम पुनीत बिषय रस रूखे। लोलुप भूमि भोग के भूखे।। कहँ लगि कहौं हृदय कठिनाई। निदरि कुलिसु जेहिं लही बड़ाई।।
I speak the truth; let all hear and believe. A righteous king is what the kingdom needs. If you forcibly place the kingdom upon me, then the earth itself will sink to the netherworld. Who is a greater dwelling-place of sin than me, on whose account Sita and Rama endure forest exile? The king gave the forest to Rama, and upon separation from Him, departed to the heavenly realm. I am the wretched cause of all these calamities. I sit here fully conscious, listening to everything. Without beholding Raghuvira, my life persists, bearing the mockery of the entire world. Rama is pure, untouched by worldly pleasures, while I am greedy and hungry for earthly enjoyment. How far can I describe the hardness of my heart? It has won its fame by putting even the thunderbolt to shame.