Datasets:
sidhellman
/
clean_data.txt

Dataset card Data Studio Files
xet
Community
1
text
stringlengths
0
182
lamentation.
24. BHARATA ARRIVES
Kausalya clung to the King's body and
cried: "I shall go with the King to Yama's
abode. How can I live without my son and
without my husband?"
The elders and officers of the palace
managed to separate her from the dead
King and take her away. Then they
discussed about the funeral rites. They
could not be performed immediately, for
Rama and Lakshmana had gone to the
forest and Bharata and Satrughna were far
away in their uncle's place. It was decided
to send for Bharata and to keep the body
immersed in oil till his arrival.
The great monarch's remains were thus
kept
waiting
for
Bharata's
arrival.
Ayodhya, the city of splendor, was sunk
in darkness and lamentation. Crowds of
women met here and there and reviled
Kaikeyi. There was anxiety in men's
hearts. The crown prince had gone to the
forest. Bharata too was far away. Anarchy
was feared, for no one in those days could
imagine a people going on without a king.
After the long night had passed, the
ministers, officers and elders assembled in
the hall in the morning. Markandeya,
Vamadeva,
Kashyapa,
Katyayana,
Gautama, Jabali and other learned men,
with Sumantra and the other ministers,
bowed to Vasishtha and said:
"Sir, the night we have passed was like
a century. The King is no more. Rama and
Lakshmana are in the forest. Bharata and
Satrughna are in far off Kekaya in their
grandfather's
house.
Someone
must
forthwith be asked to take up the
responsibility of rule. A land without a
king cannot survive. Order will disappear,
son will not obey father, nor wife her
husband.
The
rains
will
hold
back.
Thieves and robbers will range at will.
There will be no mutual trust among
people. Neither agriculture nor trade can
flourish. Without a king, the land must
lose its prosperity. The springs of charity
will dry up. Festivals and services will
cease to be performed in temples. There
will be no expounding of Shastras or
epics, nor any listeners. People will no
more sleep with doors open. Culture will
decline and soon disappear. Penances,
vows, enjoyments, learning, all depend on
the
king's
protection. The beauty of
women will vanish. The sense of security
will be lost. Men will eat one another up
as, fish do. Cruelty and misery will grow
apace and lay waste the land. For good to
prosper and evil to be restrained, a king is
essential."
Thus Valmiki describes at length the
dangers of anarchy through the mouths of
leaders in that assembly.
"It looks as if a great darkness has
enveloped the land," they said. "Dharma is
in danger. Let us forthwith secure a king."
Vasishtha sent for tried messengers and
said to them: "Start at once. Go straight
and swift to Kekaya. See that you wear no
sign of sorrow on your face or show it in
your behavior. Bharata should not know
that the King is dead. Tell him simply that
the family preceptor and ministers want
his p
resence at once in Ayodhya and bring
him along with you with all the speed you
may. Tell him nothing about Rama and
Sita going to the forest or the King's death
on
account