Bharata showed Kausalyā-devī and others the bed of grass that Rāmacandra had slept on. He remembered Rāma’s glories and lamented about Rāma’s current situation. Bharata criticized Himself and praised Lakṣmaṇa. He then declared that He would tie His own hair into a mat and go to live in the forest as a representative of Rāma. If Rāma refused to return to Ayodhyā now despite all of Bharata’s endeavors, Bharata declared, He would live in the forest with Rāma.