रामस्य वचनं श्रुत्वा भरतः प्रत्युवाच ह।
किं मे धर्माद्विहीनस्य राजधर्मः करिष्यति॥
rāmasya vacanaṁ śrutvā bharataḥ pratyuvāca ha
kiṁ me dharmād vihīnasya rāja-dharmaḥ kariṣyati
rāmasya = Rāma’s; vacanam = words; śrutvā = upon hearing; bharataḥ = Bharata; pratyuvāca ha = replied; kim = what is; me = to Me; dharmāt = of dharma; vihīnasya = for I am deprived; rāja-dharmaḥ kariṣyati = the relevance of a king’s dharma.
Upon hearing Rāma’s words, Bharata replied, “What is the relevance of a king’s dharma to Me for I am deprived of dharma?1
1 Technical note: tvat-pṛṣṭa-rāja-dharmo me kvopayuktaḥ iti bhāvaḥ.
1 And so, Bharata asserts, Rāmacandra’s elaborate summary of rāja-dharma is irrelevant to Him.
2 In some manuscripts, Chapter 104 has been presented as Chapter 101, and Chapters 101, 102 and 103 appear as Chapters 102, 103 and 104 in those manuscripts. In his commentary to this verse, Śrī Govindarāja quotes an earlier commentator’s arguments justifying this arrangement and refutes it with good reasons. After some deliberation, we have decided to not include this discussion in the present edition.
3 Adapted from Prabhupāda’s translation on the basis of his synonyms to this verse.
4 This verse is clear evidence that the highest dharma for everyone is that which begins with nāma-kīrtana, an allusion to the performance of the nine types of bhakti referred to above.
Me dharmād vihīnasya indicates that Bharata had been deprived of dharma, that is, His dharma, the primary dharma in the form of service to Rāma. It also indicates [that Bharata was not] the king whose dharma Rāma had spoken about.1
Rāja-dharmaḥ here refers to the dharma of a king according to the ethical principles stated by Rāma.2
But why is Bharata not the king? He answers that in the next verse.
NOTE. The primary dharma for one and all is engagement in the nine types of bhakti to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is very clear from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā
kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye ’dhītam uttamam
“Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service if one has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods. Such a person should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.”3 (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.23-24)
etāvān eva loke ’smin puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ
bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ
“Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human society.”4 (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.3.22)