Bharat Meets Ram: The Sacred Sandals

At Chitrakoot, Lakshman saw dust rising in the distance and recognised Ayodhya's flag. He thought Bharat was coming with an army to fight. He picked up his bow and spoke angrily. But Ram said calmly, ‘Lakshman, Bharat is dearer to me than life. He could never do such a thing.’ Lakshman felt ashamed of his words.

Leaving the army behind, Bharat came to the ashram on foot, barefoot. Seeing Ram in bark clothes, he cried ‘Bhaiya!’ and fell at his feet. Ram lifted him and held him to his heart. The meeting of the brothers was so moving that everyone watching wept. This is called Bharat Milap. Learning of his father's death, Ram offered water to his father's soul in the Mandakini river.

Bharat pleaded, ‘Brother, come back to Ayodhya. The kingdom is yours.’ The mothers and the gurus urged him too. According to the Manas, King Janak also arrived. But Ram said, ‘Breaking the promise our father made would be wrong for both of us. Your dharma is to rule; mine is to live in the forest.’

When Bharat saw that Ram would not change his mind, he asked for Ram's paduka. Ram gave him his sandals. Bharat placed them on his head and vowed, ‘For fourteen years these sandals will rule. I will run the kingdom as their servant. And if you do not return when the fourteen years are over, I will enter the fire.’

Back in Ayodhya, Bharat placed the sandals on the throne. He himself lived outside the city at Nandigram, just like Ram: with matted hair, bark clothes, sleeping on the ground and eating roots and fruits. For fourteen years he ran the kingdom, but he made every decision as if presenting it before the sandals.