Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 87: Further Conversation Between Bharata and Guha
Text 2.87.17
न ह्यस्माभिः प्रतिग्राह्यं सखे देयं तु सर्वदा।
इति तेन वयं राजन्ननुनीता महात्मना।।
na hy asmābhiḥ pratigrāhyaṁ sakhe deyaṁ tu sarvadā
iti tena vayaṁ rājann anunītā mahātmanā
na = cannot; hi asmābhiḥ = we; pratigrāhyam = accept; sakhe = friend; deyam tu = anything in charity; sarvadā iti = we are always meant to give others; tena = that; vayam = we; rājan = O king; anunītā = beseeched; mahā-ātmanā = great soul.
O king, that great soul beseeched us, “Friend, we cannot accept anything in charity. We are always meant to give others.”1
1 Kṣatriyas are only meant to give charity to qualified recipients and never to accept anything in charity.
Guha was the foremost of devotees of Lord Rāma’s lotus feet. Fruits and other eatables offered by Him were [certainly] pure due to his [pure] devotional service to Rāma. He was a first class devotee of the Lord like Śabarī and Vidura and so the Lord should have accepted Guha’s offering.
But Guha also understood that Lord Rāma did not accept his offerings because He was in the distress of separation from His father, mother and many other devotees who were dearer to Him and because He wanted to fast on the bank of [Gaṅgā], an auspicious river.