Rāmāyana | Ayodhyā Kaṇḍa | Chapter 69

69. Bhārata's Dream

[On the night before the messengers reached his place, Bhārata saw a dream of ill omen and was sure that some death should have taken place in his family. So he was out of mood.]

On that night when the messengers entered the city, on that same day Bhārata saw a very distressing dream. 69.1

Seeing a bad dream at dawn when the night had ended, the son of the king of kings was exceedingly troubled. 69.2

Having seen that he was suffering, friends of his age told pleasing words in that assembly so that his troubles would be removed. 69.3

To bring peace to him, some people played musical instruments, some of them danced, some enacted dramatic scenes and some others told jokes. 69.4

That great soul Bhārata could not be delighted by his friends as well as those who were telling pleasing words or by conversation and jokes. 69.5

One close friend addressing Bhārata, who was surrounded by friends asked "Oh friend, why are you not pleased in the company of your friends?" 69.6

Bhārata replied to him who told like this, "Please listen to the reason why grief has overtaken me."69.7

"In my dream I saw my father who was dirty and with dishevelled hair, who has fallen from the peak of the mountain in the dirty water with cow dung." 69.8

"I saw him floating in a cow dung pond, drinking oil with his cupped hands and laughing again and again." 69.9

"I saw him eating rice with sesame seeds again and again with a bent head, with oil applied all over his body and entering the oil pool." 69.10

"In that dream I saw a dry sea, a moon fallen down to the ground, an earth covered by darkness, the tusk of an elephant fit to be ridden by a king broken down to pieces, a burning fire which was suddenly put off, the earth being split open, various trees getting dried up and mountains becoming split open and covered with smoke." 69.11-69.13

"I saw my father wearing black cloths and sitting on a seat made of iron and his being mocked at by women who were having black brownish complexion." 69.14

"I saw that soul of Dharma hurrying in a chariot drawn by donkeys, wearing garland of blood red colour and travelling to the southern direction." 69.15

"Then finally I saw a Rākṣasī wearing red cloths with an ugly appearance mocking at him and dragging him away." 69.16

"Like this I saw a horrible dream last night indicating that either me or the king or Lakṣmaṇa would die." 69.17

"In the dream, if you see a man being dragged by donkeys in a carriage, then shortly, you would see him on the funeral pyre from which smoke would be rising up." 69.18

"because of this I am depressed and could not react to your activities. I feel that my throat is getting dried up and my mind is uneasy." 69.19

"I do not see any source of fear but I am only experiencing only fear. My voice has broken down and my appearance has become haggard and I am not able to understand why I hate myself." 69.20

"Having seen, in this greatly distressing dream, many forms which I have never seen before a great fear has occupied my heart and thinking about the great king, fear does not go away from my heart." 69.21

This is the end of Sixty Ninth Sarga of Ayodhyā Kanda which occurs in Holy Rāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki as the First Epic.