Atri Reveals the Hidden Well beside the Mountain
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 309
Doha 309 · Movement 2 of 2
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The waters gathered from distant pilgrimages need a resting place, and Atri knows a sacred well near the mountain. What appears unused in one ceremony is about to enter a deeper geography.
The sage asks Bharata to preserve the waters there. Streams from many holy places will meet inside one hidden depth, as the devotions of two kingdoms have met at Chitrakoot.
A well gives no outward display of its abundance. It receives, holds, and offers water from below. Such a vessel suits Bharata, whose love descends inward rather than seeking a throne, and whose name will become joined to nectar preserved for generations he will never see.
Atri gives the coronation waters a hidden home, where many pilgrimages can become one depth beside Bharata's mountain path.
Read the passage from the Manas
अत्रि कहेउ तब भरत सन सैल समीप सुकूप। राखिअ तीरथ तोय तहँ पावन अमिअ अनूप।।309।।
Then Sage Atri spoke to Bharat: "Near this mountain lies a sacred well. Let the holy waters be preserved there, pure nectar beyond compare."