Character of the Valmiki Ramayana
Bharata
भरत
Offered a kingdom he never wanted, he ruled it as a regent kneeling before his brother's sandals.
Embodies
- Devotion — Love that asks for nothing in return — the Ramayana's beating heart.
- Renunciation — Letting go of a throne, a claim, a life — without bitterness.
- Brotherhood — Brothers who serve and brothers who betray, and what divides them.
Questions to explore
- Why did Bharata refuse a throne that was lawfully his?
- What do Rama's sandals on the throne really mean?
