Bharata Enters Prayag Calling Sita and Ram
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 203
Doha 203 · Movement 2 of 2
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The third watch has begun when Bharata reaches Prayag. The long procession enters the king of pilgrimage places after miles measured by the prince's unshod feet.
His voice moves ahead of him through the sacred air: Ram, Sita, Ram, Sita. Each repetition rises with another wave of love, and the names become the true heralds of his arrival.
He does not enter proclaiming ancestry, grief, or royal purpose. The two names contain the journey, the prayer, and the one meeting he seeks. Where the rivers approach union, remembrance also gathers what separation has scattered. Bharata's body comes weary into Prayag, but love surges rather than diminishes, making every utterance larger than the host around him.
At the confluence, Bharata's arrival is announced only by the names Sita and Ram rising again and again upon waves of love.
Read the passage from the Manas
भरत तीसरे पहर कहँ कीन्ह प्रबेसु प्रयाग। कहत राम सिय राम सिय उमगि उमगि अनुराग।।203।।
In the third watch of the day, Bharat entered Prayaga, chanting 'Rama, Sita! Rama, Sita!' as waves of love surged within him.