Bharat's Love and Ram's Sandals

When Ram left for the forest, his younger brother Bharat was away at his grandfather's home. When he came back, he learned that Ram, Sita and Lakshman had gone to the forest for fourteen years, and that their father, Raja Dasharath, missing Ram, had left this world. Bharat's heart broke.

Everyone said to Bharat, "Now you must be king." But Bharat said, "This kingdom belongs to Ram Bhaiya. I will bring him back." With the queen mothers, Guru Vashishtha and the people of Ayodhya, he set out for the forest.

Among the beautiful hills of Chitrakoot, near a little hut, he saw Ram. Bharat ran and fell at Ram's feet, weeping. Ram lifted him up and hugged him. Tears flowed from the eyes of both brothers.

With folded hands Bharat said, "Bhaiya, please come back to Ayodhya. You are the king." Ram explained lovingly, "Bharat, it is our duty to keep the promise our father made. I will live in the forest for fourteen years. Until then, you look after Ayodhya and its people." Ram also said, "Do not be angry with Mother Kaikeyi. Take care of her."

Bharat understood that Ram would not break his word. Then he made a sweet request: "Bhaiya, please give me your sandals." Ram stepped onto his gold-decorated sandals and then gave them to Bharat. Bharat placed them on his head, as if he had found the most precious treasure in the world.

Bharat said, "These sandals will rule Ayodhya. I will work as their servant. And until you return, I will not live in the palace either."

Back in Ayodhya, Bharat placed the sandals on the royal throne and held the royal umbrella over them. He himself lived like a hermit in Nandigram, outside the city. He wore simple clothes of tree bark, ate fruits and roots, and slept on a mat of kusha grass on the ground. Before every task of the kingdom, he bowed to the sandals and told them everything, and only then made a decision.

For fourteen years Bharat looked after the kingdom as something Ram had left in his safe keeping. He had the whole kingdom, yet he kept nothing for himself. Such love for a brother is very rare in this world.