Canto 2: Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa ()Chapter 77: Bharata and Śatrughna Lament About Daśaratha’s DepartureText 2.77.21
Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 77: Bharata and Śatrughna Lament About Daśaratha’s Departure
Text 2.77.21
ततः प्रकृतिमान्वैद्यः पितुरेषां पुरोहितः।
वसिष्ठो भरतं वाक्यमुत्थाप्य तमुवाच ह॥
tataḥ prakṛtimān vaidyaḥ pitur eṣāṁ purohitaḥ
vasiṣṭho bharataṁ vākyam utthāpya tam uvāca ha
tataḥ = then; prakṛtimān = of good nature 6; vaidyaḥ = the all-knowing 7; pituḥ eṣām = of Their father Daśaratha; purohitaḥ = the priest; vasiṣṭhaḥ = Vasiṣṭha; bharatam = Bharata; vākyam = the following words; utthāpya = raised up; tam = to Him; uvāca ha = and spoke.
Then the all-knowing Vasiṣṭha of good nature, the priest of Their father Daśaratha, raised Bharata up and spoke the following words to Him.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhāva-dīpa: prakṛtimān prakṛti-jana-sahitaḥ.
Vaidyaḥ indicates that Vasiṣṭha had knowledge of the Upaniṣads, the concluding portion of the Vedas, that are the source of philosophical wisdom. In other words, he was all-knowing as one with factual realized knowledge of superior and inferior truths that he acquired from the knowledge of the Upaniṣads.
Vasiṣṭha is referred to as the priest of Their father, that is the father of Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna.
GLOSS. Prakṛtimān indicates that Vasiṣṭha was present with the subjects of the departed king.1