Bharata Calls Himself Unfit to Rule through Delusion
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 178
Doha 178 · Movement 2 of 2
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Bharata adopts the harshest possible description of himself: Kaikeyi's son, crooked in mind, turned away from Ram, and emptied of shame.
If such a fallen person rules, how can anyone seek happiness through that kingdom? He tells the assembly that their hope is bound by delusion.
The self accusation is not a balanced judgment of his character. It reveals the impossibility of separating the proposed crown from the mother who obtained it and the brother displaced by it. Bharata would rather make himself unfit for power than let affection disguise what the throne signifies to him.
Bharata blackens his own claim to kingship so completely that no one can mistake the offered crown for an object of desire.
Read the passage from the Manas
कैकेई सुअ कुटिलमति राम बिमुख गतलाज। तुम्ह चाहत सुखु मोहबस मोहि से अधम कें राज।।178।।
Son of Kaikeyi, of crooked mind, turned away from Rama, bereft of all shame. You desire happiness, bound by moha, through the rule of one as fallen as I.