Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 76: Bharata Performs the Final Rites for Daśaratha
Text 2.76.18
तथा हुताशनं दत्त्वा जेपुस्तस्य तमृत्विजः।
जगुश्च ते यथाशास्त्रं तत्र सामानि सामगाः॥
tathā hutāśanaṁ dattvā jepus tasya tam ṛtvijaḥ
jaguś ca te yathā-śāstraṁ tatra sāmāni sāmagāḥ
tathā huta-aśanam = fire; dattvā = having lit; jepuḥ = recited various mantras; tasya = for his benefit; tam = the; ṛtvijaḥ = sacrificial priests such as the udgātā priests; jaguḥ ca = sang; te = the; yathā-śāstram = according to the scriptural injunctions; tatra = at that time; sāmāni = the Sāma mantras; sāmagāḥ = the reciters of Sāma hymns.
Having lit the fire for his benefit, the sacrificial priests such as the udgātā priests recited various mantras. The reciters of Sāma hymns sang the Sāma mantras at that time according to the scriptural injunctions.
The sacrificial priests lit the fire, that is, they set the pyre on fire through Bharata. They did so for his benefit, that is, so that he could attain the supreme destination.