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Bharata's Coronation
When you mount the throne, Laksmana will be your trusted minister. I, Bharata, will bear a parasol over your head and Satrughna will sway the flywhisks." Kaikeyi said, "Dear son Rama, please honour the request of your younger brother Bharata. Neither King Dasaratha nor Bharata are responsible for your misery and plight. If there is any one to be blamed, its me! I am a storehouse of vices. Loyalty to the husband is the only virtue that I possess. I have inflicted enormous sorrow on my husband, sons and the other queens. Forgive me my son, forgive your wreched mother!!"
Rama consoled his weeping mother and said, "Mother, the promise of a Ksatriya is like an arrow, impossible to be retrived. I am the son of Dasaratha, the most revered amongst the clan of warriors. Don't you wish that our names and reputation remains untarnished in the years to come ? Father has entrusted the crown to Bharata and I wholeheartedly support and laud his decision. If we do not keep our promises, we will be turned into living corpses. An elder brother is a fatherfigure, and Bharata cannot disobey either his father or me, his eldest brother." Saying this, he asked Sita to fetch some water and sprinkled it on the head of Bharata, in the presence of his mother and the other trusted ministers, and proclaimed Bharata to be the emperor of Ayodhyā.
He appeased the heart of Kaikeyi with gentle words, then, in a few but appropriate words, he explained to Bharata his duties as a king. Then he embraced him and bowed down before Kaikeyi and other elders and requested them to return to Ayodhyā. When they left, the trio began its journey towards the south.
Bharata upheld the words of his father and elder brothers like Dharma itself. He obeyed the command of Rama and returned to Ayodhyā with a heavy heart. He ascended the royal throne unwillingly. He called himself a representative and a humble servant of Rāma. He considered the crown to be Rāma's property and himself its custodian.
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