Bharata, overwhelmed with emotion and bowing his head in humility before Rāma, pleaded with him, “O knower of dharma, rule this entire undisturbed ancestral kingdom, free from thorns, in accordance with your own righteousness, together with your kinsmen. Let all the ministers, along with the priests and the venerable Vasiṣṭha, skilled in sacred mantras, anoint you as king right here. Once you are consecrated by us, go forth to govern Ayodhyā, having conquered the worlds with your might, like Indra with the Maruts. By repaying the three debts, burning away the wicked, and gratifying friends in their desires, you alone should rule over me here. “May your true friends rejoice at your consecration today, and may those who wish you ill, filled with fear, flee in all ten directions. Wipe away the reproach upon my mother and myself, O best of men, and today protect our father, wherever he is, from sin. With my head bowed, I beg you: show compassion to me and to all our relatives, just as the great Lord shows compassion to all beings. But if, even after all this, you still choose to go to the forest, then I too will go with you.” Thus, though Bharata, tormented and pleading, bowed before him again and again, steadfast Rāma did not waver in his resolve, remaining firm in his father’s command. Seeing such wondrous steadfastness in Rāghava, the people, though sorrowful that he would not return to Ayodhyā, felt a deep joy at his unwavering commitment to righteousness. Then the priests, the beloved city elders, and the mothers, their eyes filled with tears, praised Bharata for his words and together entreated Rāma to return. (Thus ends the one hundred and sixth sarga in the glorious Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa of the ancient and revered Rāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki.) Again, as Bharata spoke thus, the illustrious elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa, honored among his kin, replied to him with gentle firmness. “What you have said is fitting, for you are indeed the son of Daśaratha and the noble Kaikeyī, O best among kings. Long ago, brother, when our father married your mother, he heard from your maternal grandfather of the unparalleled royal dowry. In the battle between gods and demons, your mother’s father, the king, delighted, granted her a boon, being well pleased. “Then, having received that promise, your renowned mother, O best of men, asked the king for two boons. She requested your kingship, O tiger among men, and my exile; and the king granted her those two boons, as she desired. By my father’s command, O best of men, I too was bound to dwell in the forest for fourteen years, as a giver of boons. Thus I have come to this lonely forest, accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā, steadfast in truth and in my father’s word. “You too, O king among men, should likewise swiftly fulfill the command of our truthful father by accepting the consecration. Free the king, our lord, from his debts on my account, O Bharata, knower of righteousness, and honor our father and mother. Long ago, O dear one, it is heard that a celebrated hymn was sung by Gaya, the sacrificer, for his father at Gaya itself. Because a son saves his father from the hell called Put, therefore he is called ‘putra,’ since he protects his father or leads him. “Many sons should be begotten, virtuous and learned; for among them, even if many are gathered, perhaps one will go to Gaya. Thus, all royal sages have believed, O delight of the kings; therefore, O best of men, save your father from hell, O lord. Go to Ayodhyā, Bharata, win the favor of the people, together with Shatrughna, O hero, and with all the twice-born as well. I too shall enter the Dandaka forest without delay, accompanied by these two—Vaidehī and Lakṣmaṇa, O king. “You, Bharata, become king yourself over men; I shall be king of the forest-dwellers and the wild beasts. Go today, rejoicing, to the great city; I too, rejoicing, shall enter Dandaka. May the rays of the sun, O Bharata, make your head cool with shade during the rainy season; I too shall happily rest in the deep shade of these forest trees. Shatrughna, who is very skilled, will be your companion; Saumitri is known to me as my chief friend. We four excellent sons, O king, will follow the path of truth—do not grieve, Bharata.” (Thus ends the one hundred and seventh sarga in the glorious Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa of the holy Rāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki.) As Bharata was being consoled in this way, the eminent Brahmin Jābāli spoke up, addressing Rāma in words that ran contrary to righteousness. “Well done, Rāghava, but let not your mind be so fruitless, like that of an ordinary man, for you possess the noble mind of the virtuous. Who is truly related to whom? What belongs to whom, and by whom is anything possessed? Each being is born alone and perishes alone. “Therefore, Rāma, the man who clings to ‘mother’ and ‘father’ should be regarded as mad; truly, there is no one who belongs to anyone. Just as a man, traveling to another village, may stay somewhere for a while, then leave that dwelling and settle elsewhere the next day, so too, O descendant of Kakutstha, for people, father, mother, and home are merely temporary abodes; the good do not become attached to them. “Having abandoned your father’s kingdom, O best of men, you should not take up this painful, difficult, and thorny path. Consecrate yourself as ruler in prosperous Ayodhyā; the city, with its single braid, now awaits you.