Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 1: Daśaratha Desires to Appoint Rāma as the Crown Prince
Text 2.1.4
राजापि तौ महातेजाः सस्मार प्रोषितौ सुतौ।
उभौ भरतशत्रुघ्नौ महेन्द्रवरुणोपमौ॥
rājāpi tau mahā-tejāḥ sasmāra proṣitau sutau
ubhau bharata-śatrughnau mahendra-varuṇopamau
rājā = King; api = also; tau = the ones; mahā-tejāḥ = the greatly powerful; sasmāra = remembered; proṣitau = and who had gone to another place; sutau ubhau = both of his sons; bharata-śatrughnau = Bharata and Śatrughna; mahendra-varuṇa-upamau = who were comparable to Mahendra and Varuṇa.
The greatly powerful King Daśaratha also remembered both of his sons Bharata and Śatrughna, the ones who were comparable to Mahendra and Varuṇa and who had gone to another place.
King Daśaratha was greatly powerful, that is, filled with abundant prowess by dint of the birth of excellent sons. Bharata and Śatrughna were comparable to Mahendra and Varuṇa for They were inseparable in friendship. These two sons were the objects of Daśaratha’s unbounded love. It is implied here that despite being enriched with all kinds of prosperity, Daśaratha considered the absence of his two sons to be his [only] deficiency. He remembered both of his sons—He didn’t remember one of Them more than the other.