Bharata

(2) In the Ramayana, the earlier of the
two great Hindu epics, Bharata is the
son of King Dasharatha by his wife
Kaikeyi and the righteous younger
brother of the god Rama, the epic’s protagonist. Bharata’s loyalty to his family
has to endure several tests. The strictest
one comes early in the epic when,
through Kaikeyi’s treachery, Rama is
sent into exile in the forest for fourteen
years, and Bharata is named king in his
place. Despite the obvious temptations
of wealth and power, Bharata refuses to
assume the throne in place of his
brother, curses his mother for her
deceit, and sets off to live in exile with
Rama. Rama commands Bharata to
return to Ayodhya and rule during
his exile, on the premise that the people
will suffer without a king. Bharata
reluctantly agrees to act as a temporary
king, but with two symbolic adjustments: He moves the court from the
capital city of Ayodhya to the village
of Nandigrama as a symbol of Rama’s
exile, and throughout his rule sits at
the foot of the royal throne; a pair of
Rama’s sandals are placed upon the
throne as a symbol of the rightful king.
Many characters in the Ramayana
are paradigms for Indian cultural values,
and Bharata stands for the ideal younger
brother. In the traditional joint household the brothers are the heart of the
family, since it is they who remain at
home their entire lives, whereas their
sisters live with their husbands’ families
after they are married. The eldest brother
in every generation eventually becomes
the head of the joint family after the
older members have passed away. He
carries primary authority and responsibility for the family as a whole but cannot succeed without the cooperation of
his younger brothers, who must
acknowledge and support his authority.
By refusing to usurp his elder brother’s
rightful leadership, Bharata is a paradigm for the ideal younger brother, who
puts aside his own desires and opportunities to uphold and promote the welfare of the family as a whole.