After meeting King Dasharatha and his son, Bharata, and receiving honor from them, the messengers respectfully approached, taking hold of the king’s feet. They spoke to Bharata, conveying the priest’s well-wishes and those of all the ministers, urging him to depart swiftly, for urgent matters awaited him. They presented Bharata with precious garments and ornaments, requesting him to give these to his maternal uncle. Along with these, they brought enormous gifts: twenty crores from the king for Bharata’s maternal uncle, and ten crores for Bharata himself. Bharata graciously accepted these gifts, showing affection toward his friends, and then addressed the messengers, honoring them with his own well-wishes. He asked after his father, King Dasharatha: “Is he well?” He inquired if any harm had befallen Rama or the great-souled Lakshmana. With care, he asked about noble Kausalya, wise in dharma and devoted to righteousness, the mother of Rama, hoping she was free from illness. He also asked about Sumitra, knowledgeable in dharma, mother of Lakshmana and the heroic Shatrughna, wondering if she too was well. Bharata then remembered his own mother, Kaikeyi—self-willed, fierce, quick to anger, wise, and proud—and asked what message she had sent him. The messengers, addressed thus by the noble Bharata, spoke respectfully: “O tiger among men, all those for whom you wish well are indeed well. Fortune and the lotus goddess favor you, and may your protection be assured.” Bharata, hearing these words, replied, “I will take leave of the great king now, as the messengers urge me to hurry.” Prompted by their urgency, Bharata then addressed his maternal grandfather: “O King, urged by the messengers, I must go to my father’s presence. I will return again whenever you remember me.” His maternal grandfather, the king, embraced Bharata’s head and spoke auspicious words: “Go, dear child, I permit you. Kaikeyi is blessed with a son like you. Convey my well-wishes to your mother and to your father, the supreme ascetic. Also greet the priest and all the excellent twice-born men, and, dear child, your brothers—those two mighty archers, Rama and Lakshmana.” The Kaikeyan king honored Bharata, gifting him the finest elephant, blankets, and skins as wealth. He ordered two thousand gold coins and sixteen hundred horses to be given as gifts. The lord of horses quickly provided Bharata with trusted and virtuous ministers as attendants. Bharata’s maternal uncle gave him elephants of the Airavata line, pleasing to behold, swift, and well-harnessed mules as wealth. He also gifted palace-raised dogs, endowed with tiger-like strength, armed with fangs, and of great size. Having taken leave of his maternal grandfather and uncle, Bharata, victorious in battle, mounted his chariot with Shatrughna and departed. At that moment, a great anxiety arose in Bharata’s heart, caused by the urgency of the messengers and a troubling vision from his dream. Leaving his residence, surrounded by men, elephants, and horses, Bharata entered the splendid and unrivaled royal road. As he traveled, he saw the inner city and entered it unhindered. Taking leave of his mother and his maternal uncle Yudhājit, Bharata, together with Shatrughna, ascended the chariot and set forth. More than a hundred chariots with circular wheels were harnessed, and servants followed Bharata, using camels, cattle, horses, and mules. Protected by his army and accompanied by ministers equal in status to Āryaka, Bharata took Shatrughna, who was free from enemies, and departed from the house as if leaving Indra’s world. Now begins the seventy-first chapter in the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, in the Ayodhyā section. Bharata, valiant and resolute, departed from the royal palace. He beheld the radiant Sudāmā river and crossed it. The illustrious son of Ikṣvāku crossed the delightful, distant, opposite-banked, and backward-flowing, wave-laden Śatadrū river. He crossed the Ela-dhāna river, reached the other bank, and traversed the stone-laden path and the Agneyam, a place of arrow-cutting. Truthful, pure, and illustrious, Bharata gazed at the stone-carrying hills, passed over the great mountains, and moved toward the Caitra forest. He reached the Sarasvatī and Gaṅgā rivers, crossed them with vigor, and entered the northern Bhāruṇḍa forest of the heroic Matsyas. Arriving at the swift-flowing Yamunā, called Kulinga, resounding and surrounded by mountains, Bharata crossed it and reassured his army. He cooled their limbs, comforted the weary horses, and all bathed and drank there, departing with water for the journey. Through the vast forest seldom frequented, Bharata advanced nobly in a fine vehicle, like the wind moving through the sky. He swiftly approached the Bhāgīrathī, the great river difficult to cross, at the renowned city on the eastern bank. Having crossed the Gaṅgā at the eastern bank, he arrived at Kuṭikoṣṭhikā, and with his forces, crossed it and reached Dharmavardhana. Thus, Bharata’s journey homeward continued, filled with both royal splendor and anxious anticipation, as he traversed rivers, forests, and mountains, ever mindful of duty and the well-being of his family.