Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 90: Bharata Meets Bharadvāja Ṛṣi
Text 2.90.9
तथेति तत्प्रतिज्ञाय भरद्वाजो महातपाः।
भरतं प्रत्युवाचेदं राघवस्नेहबन्धनात्॥
tatheti tat pratijñāya bharadvājo mahā-tapāḥ
bharataṁ pratyuvācedaṁ rāghava-sneha-bandhanāt
tathā iti = were well; tat = all that they had inquired about; pratijñāya = acknowledged that; bharadvājaḥ = Bharadvāja; mahā-tapāḥ = of great prowess; bharatam = to Bharata; pratyuvāca idam = he then replied [as follows]; rāghava-sneha-bandhanāt = out of affection for Rāghava.
Bharadvāja of great prowess acknowledged that all that they had inquired about were well. Out of affection for Rāghava, he then replied to Bharata [as follows].
“Out of affection for Rāghava” indicates that he did not [ask the following question to] find fault in Bharata.