Bharata, deeply distressed and seeking to persuade his elder brother Rāma to return to Ayodhyā, spoke with heartfelt conviction. He reminded Rāma that one who truly knows both the higher and lower truths, as Rāma does, should not grieve even in the face of such misfortune. Bharata praised Rāma’s nature—likening him to the immortals—great-souled, steadfast in truth, all-knowing and wise. With such qualities, Bharata said, one who understands the nature of creation and dissolution should not be overcome by unbearable sorrow. Bharata humbly asked Rāma’s forgiveness for the wrongs committed by his own mother, Kaikeyī, while he was away. He explained that though Kaikeyī’s actions were base and wicked, he, bound by righteousness, could not bring himself to punish her severely, even if she deserved it. Bharata reflected on his own lineage, born of pure Daśaratha, and declared that he could never perform an unrighteous, despised act. He continued, saying that he would never reproach in public those worthy of respect—the teacher, the actor, the elder, the king, the deceased father, nor the divine powers. Bharata wondered aloud who, seeking to please a woman, would commit such a sinful act if he truly understood dharma. He recalled the ancient belief that beings become confused at the end of their lives, and said that the king’s actions had made this tradition manifest before their eyes. Bharata pleaded that whatever transgression their father had committed—whether out of anger, delusion, or rashness—Rāma, aiming for righteousness, should now withdraw that act. He reminded Rāma that a son inherits the consequences of his father’s downfall, and urged him to be the true son by not perpetuating his father’s wrongdoing. The wise, Bharata said, do not approve of one who follows through with a wrongful deed. He implored Rāma to protect Kaikeyī, himself, their father, friends, relatives, and all the people of the city and countryside. Bharata questioned the connection between the forest and the warrior class, between matted locks and ruling, and said that Rāma ought not to undertake such a disrupted act. The foremost duty of a kshatriya, Bharata reminded him, is consecration, by which the protection of the people is accomplished. He asked who, abandoning what is certain and present, would pursue a doubtful, uncertain, future dharma, especially as a kshatriya or his kin. If Rāma wished to practice a dharma full of hardship, Bharata urged him to uphold dharma by protecting the four varnas and accepting that hardship. Among the four stages of life, householdership is declared by the knowers of dharma to be the highest; Bharata wondered how Rāma could rightly abandon that. Bharata acknowledged his own position, saying that by learning, by status, and by birth, he was Rāma’s junior, and could not govern the land while Rāma remained. He admitted his own shortcomings—being a child, lacking in intellect and qualities, and inferior in position—and said he could not maintain the kingdom without Rāma. Bharata urged Rāma to rule the entire, undisturbed, ancestral kingdom, free from thorns, in accordance with his own dharma, together with his kinsmen. He asked that all the ministers, priests, and Vasiṣṭha, skilled in mantras, anoint Rāma as king right there. Once consecrated, Bharata said, Rāma should govern Ayodhyā, conquering the worlds with his might, like Indra with the Maruts. Bharata spoke of repaying the three debts, burning away the wicked, gratifying friends, and said Rāma alone should rule over him. He wished that Rāma’s true friends would rejoice at his consecration, while ill-wishers, filled with fear, would flee in all directions. Bharata asked Rāma to wipe away the reproach upon his mother and himself, and to protect their father from sin. With head bowed, Bharata begged Rāma to show compassion to him and to all their relatives, as the great Lord does to all beings. But, Bharata said, if Rāma still chose to go to the forest, then he too would go with him. Despite Bharata’s tormented pleas, bowing his head, steadfast Rāma did not resolve to return, remaining firm in his father’s command. Seeing such wondrous steadfastness in Rāma, the people, though sorrowful that he would not return to Ayodhyā, felt joy at his unwavering resolve. The priests, the beloveds of the city elders, and the mothers, their eyes filled with tears, praised Bharata for his words and together entreated Rāma. Thus ended the one hundred and sixth sarga in the glorious Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa of the ancient and revered Rāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki. Then, as Bharata spoke thus again, Rāma—the illustrious elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa, honored among his kin—replied to him. Rāma said that what Bharata had spoken was fitting, for Bharata was indeed the son of Daśaratha and the noble Kaikeyī, best among kings. Rāma recalled that long ago, when their father married Kaikeyī, he heard from her father about the unparalleled royal dowry. In the battle between gods and demons, Kaikeyī’s father, the king, delighted, granted her a boon, being well-pleased. Having received that promise, Kaikeyī asked Daśaratha for two boons: she requested Bharata’s kingship and Rāma’s exile. The king granted her those two boons as she desired. By his father’s command, Rāma explained, he was bound to dwell in the forest for fourteen years, as a giver of boons. Thus, Rāma said, he had come to this lonely forest, accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā, steadfast in truth and in his father’s word.