अलम्बुसा मिश्रकेशी पुण्डरीकाथ वामना।
उपानृत्यंस्तु भरतं भरद्वाजस्य शासनात्॥
alambusā miśrakeśī puṇḍarīkātha vāmanā
upānṛtyaṁs tu bharataṁ bharadvājasya śāsanāt
alambusā = Alambusā; miśrakeśī = Miśrakeśī; puṇḍarīkā = Puṇḍarīka; atha = and; vāmanā = Vāmanā; upānṛtyan tu = danced even more; bharatam = for Bharata; bharadvājasya śāsanāt = on Bharadvāja’s order.
On Bharadvāja’s order, Alambusā, Miśrakeśī, Puṇḍarīkā and Vāmanā danced even more for Bharata.
1 This is one reason for this offering of celestial sense enjoyment by the powerful sage Bharadvāja. One who has true affection for Lord Rāma will never become bewildered by any offering of sense enjoyment. Bharadvāja wanted to prove to the common people that Bharata nonduplicitously and nondiplomatically wanted to hand over the kingdom to Rāma. And the sage arranged for this elaborate arrangement of celestial enjoyment even at the expense of using up his piety that he had accumulated through extensive austerities. This offering of celestial enjoyment was also a way of honoring Bharata, a form of Lord Viṣṇu. Bharadvāja Ṛṣi also wanted to prove that those who are exclusively focused on [pleasing] the Supreme Personality of Godhead can experience Svarga even in this life, thus displaying the glory of pure affection for Rāma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
2 Unlike Bharata, Bharata’s army was affected by the Bharadvāja’s offering of celestial sense enjoyment. That will be pointed out later in this chapter.
It can be inferred that the sage Bharadvāja examined Bharata’s attitude of dependence to Rāma on the pretext of being hospitable to Him.1
The author thus notes [here] that Bharata was fixed in His dependence upon Rāmacandra and that He was not shaken by sense enjoyment. He then elaborately describes the sense enjoyment of Bharata’s army from the next verse.2