Ramayana, Epic of Rama, Prince of India

IV. The Meeting of the Princes - 66
I. The Meeting of the Brothers
Sorrowing for his sire departed Bharat to Ayodhya came,
But the exile of his brother stung his noble heart to flame,
Scorning sin-polluted empire, travelling with each widowed queen,
Sought through wood and trackless jungle Chitra-kuta’s peaceful scene.
Royal guards and Saint Vasishtha loitered with the dames behind,
Onward pressed the eager Bharat, Rama’s hermit-home to find,
Nestled in a jungle thicket, Rama’s cottage rose in sight,
Thatched with leaves and twining branches, reared by Lakshman’s faithful
might.
Faggots hewn of gnarled branches, blossoms culled from bush and tree,
Coats of bark and russet garments, kusa spread upon the lea,
Store of horns and branching antlers, fire-wood for the dewy night, –
Spake the dwelling of a hermit suited for a hermit’s rite.
“May the scene,” so Bharat uttered, “by the righteous rishi told,
Markalvati’s rippling waters, Chitra-kuta’s summit bold,
[65] Mark the dark and trackless forest where the untamed tuskers roam,
And the deep and hollow caverns where the wild beasts make their home,
Mark the spacious wooded uplands, wreaths of smoke obscure the sky,
Hermits feed their flaming altars for their worship pure and high.
Done our weary work and wandering, righteous Rama here we meet,
Saint and king and honoured elder! Bharat bows unto his feet,
Born a king of many nations, he hath forest refuge sought,
Yielded throne and mighty kingdom for a hermit’s humble cot,
Honour unto righteous Rama, unto Sita true and bold,
Theirs be fair Kosala’s empire, crown and sceptre, wealth and gold!”
Stately Sal and feathered palm-tree on the cottage lent their shade,
Strewn upon the sacred altar was the grass of kusa spread,
Gaily on the walls suspended hung two bows of ample height,
And their back with gold was pencilled, bright as INDRA’S bow of might,
Cased in broad unfailing quivers arrows shone like light of day,
And like flame-tongued fiery serpents cast a dread and lurid ray,