The King Begs to Witness Bharata's Coronation
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 32
Doha 32 · Movement 2 of 2
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Dasharatha asks Kaikeyi to put away anger and jest, to think with discernment, and to choose a boon shaped by wisdom rather than fury.
He promises not merely to crown Bharata but to behold the ceremony with his own eyes. The king offers her desired outcome within a form that preserves Ram, family, and life.
His plea tries to separate the two demands Manthara bound together. Bharata's elevation need not require Ram's banishment. One son's honour does not demand another son's loss. Dasharatha still speaks from the indivisible love Kaikeyi has been taught to forget.
Dasharatha places Bharata's crown before Kaikeyi and begs her not to build it from Ram's absence.
Read the passage from the Manas
प्रिया हास रिस परिहरहि मागु बिचारि बिबेकु। जेहिं देखाँ अब नयन भरि भरत राज अभिषेकु।।32।।
Beloved, set aside this anger and this jest. Think with discernment and ask wisely, so that I may behold with my own eyes Bharat's royal coronation.