Sometimes we see omens or dreams that tell us something good or bad is going to happen in the future. Bharata saw a dream showing him that someone dear to him had died and he woke up feeling very unhappy. He became even more worried when messengers from Vasishtha arrived in the morning asking him to return to Ayodhya immediately. Bharata and Shatrughna set off immediately and reached Ayodhya eight days later. The city seemed strangely deserted and quiet. There were no crowds on the roads. When the two brothers entered the palace, they found the same silence all around. They went looking for Dasharatha but his chamber was empty. Worried, the brothers ran to Kaikeyi’s palace. When she saw them, she sprang up joyfully and hugged them. They touched her feet to seek her blessing. Then Bharata enquired, “Mother, where’s Father? And where are my brothers, Rama and Lakshmana? I didn’t see them or my sister-in-law, Seeta.”
Bharata Returns
