Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 100: Rāma Instructs Bharata About the Duties of a King
Text 2.100.5
चिरस्य बत पश्यामि दूराद्भरतमागतम्।
दुष्प्रतीकमरण्येऽस्मिन्किं तात वनमागतः॥
cirasya bata paśyāmi dūrād bharatam āgatam
duṣpratīkam araṇye ’smin kiṁ tāta vanam āgataḥ
cirasya = after a long time; bata = ah 1; paśyāmi = I see; dūrāt = from a long distance; bharatam = Bharata; āgatam = who has come; duṣpratīkam = His features are unrecognizable [to Me] 2; araṇye = in this forest; asmin = to this; kim = why; tāta = dear child; vanam = woodland; āgataḥ = did You come.
Ah, I see Bharata who has come from a long distance after a long time! His features are unrecognizable [to Me]. Dear child, why did You come to this woodland in this forest?1
1 Technical note: araṇye gajādi-sevita-mahā-vane vidyamānaṁ vanam āmrādi-vṛkṣa-samūham.
Bata (“ah!”) indicates that Rāma was astonished. Bharata had come from a long distance, that is, from the city of Kekaya. Bharata’s features were unrecognizable [to Rāma] because His face was pale and so on.
Śrī Rāmacandra considered as follows: Why did Bharata come to the forest in this distant land? There could have been two reasons: (1) If King Daśaratha was alive, Bharata might have come to Rāma [just] to see Him, on the king’s order. (2) If the king had died, Bharata might have come to Him after the kingdom had been taken over by stronger [kings] because of Bharata’s immaturity.
Rāma considered the first possibility in the next text.