तच्छ्रुत्वा भरतस्त्रस्तो भ्रातुश्चारित्रशङ्कया।
स्वस्य वंशस्य माहात्म्यात्प्रष्टुं समुपचक्रमे॥
tac chrutvā bharatas trasto bhrātuś cāritra-śaṅkayā
svasya vaṁśasya māhātmyāt praṣṭuṁ samupacakrame
tat = this; śrutvā = upon hearing; bharataḥ = Bharata; trastaḥ bhrātuḥ cāritra-śaṅkayā = became apprehensive about His brother’s character; svasya = of His; vaṁśasya = dynasty; māhātmyāt = [remembering] the glory; praṣṭum = to ask [her as follows]; samupacakrame = He began.
1 Bharata knew that King Daśaratha was dhārmika and hence would not have exiled Rāma without a reason. Bharata wanted to know what that reason was. It is evident from text 2.70.10 that He suspected His mother of doing something that caused a great calamity to befall His dynasty. It must be concluded, therefore, that Bharata’s fear of Rāma’s character was superficial and that He had asked various rhetorical questions about Rāma that lead His mother to reveal the entire truth.
2 Technical note: sva-vaṁśasya māhātmyam asad-ācārābhāva-pūrvakaṁ sad-ācāra-niratatvam asad-ācāra-tyāgitvaṁ ca tat saṁsmṛtya.
The glory of Bharata’s dynasty was that its members were averse to improper conduct and absorbed in proper conduct.