Chapter Fifteen: Reading Notes of The Ramayana Part B (PDE Version)

 Immediately, part b starts off with a bang! We find out that Bharata returns home and finds out that his father has passed away. In the midst of his emotional breakdown triggered by news of his father’s passing, his mother, Kaikeyi, also has to tell him that Rama had been exiled. As he continued to grieve, his mother tells him basically to not be sad, that she did it to help him be seated on the throne. Here is where the real drama kicks in. Bharata basically says that the throne means nothing without his father and Rama, and that he is going to retrieve his brother, Rama, so that he can take his rightful place on the throne. He also calls his mother an evil-hearted woman, which, as of right now, he’s not wrong. But wait, there’s more! Bharata even goes so far as to say that he would have KILLED HIS OWN MOTHER if he didn’t think that Rama wouldn’t forgive or speak to him again. Whew. Not even my telenovelas can compare to this! 

This part of the story is titled Bharata Returns and is written by Donald A. Mackenzie. 

So when Bharata and Rama see each other again, Bharata basically says to Rama, please take the throne so that I can fix the mistake my mother made. Rama tells him that he can’t disobey the will of their father. Bharata tells him that he basically already complied plus their dad is dead so really he doesn’t have to be exiled anymore. Bharata goes on to tell some real truth in my opinion, he makes perfect sense to me. But his words anger Rama. Rama tells him that he means well, but what he says isn’t true. I don’t know, it sounded pretty true to me, but we’ll continue. He says a lot of stuff that shuts down what Bharata said before, but the most important thing Rama said was that Bharata should reign while he continues to live in the jungle. I know they’re both following their dharma, but my question is, if Bharata was currently supposed to rule, why didn’t he just tell Rama that it is his will that Rama rule? Wouldn’t they have avoided so much? 

This part of the story is titled Rama and Bharata and is written by Donald A. Mackenzie.

(Image I believe is titled Hayagriva restoring Vedas to Brahma which were taken to Rasatala. Image provided by Wikimedia Commons)