With these words Kausalya clasped Bharata to her heart; milk began to trickle from her breasts and her eyes filled with tears. Thus, as they sat and made such long lamentations, the whole night was spent.
With these words Kausalya clasped Bharata to her heart; milk began to trickle from her breasts and her eyes filled with tears. Thus, as they sat and made such long lamentations, the whole night was spent.

Then came the sages Vamadeva and Vasishtha, who summoned all the ministers and nobles of the city. Vasishtha gave Bharata much good advice, with a discourse on spiritual topics appropriate to the occasion.

‘Take courage, dear son,’ he said, ‘and do what the occasion demands today.’ Hearing his guru’s command, Bharata arose and ordered everything to be made ready.

He had the king’s body bathed in accordance with rites prescribed in the Vedas and caused a most splendid funeral bier to be prepared. Then clasping the feet of each of the queens, Bharata bid them stay (entreated them not to ascend the funeral pyre with their husband); they all stayed in the hope of seeing Rama.

There arrived many loads of sandalwood and aloes and countless kinds of other excellent aromatic herbs, and a funeral pyre was artistically built on the bank of the Sarayu, looking like a lovely ladder reaching to heaven.

Thus were all the rites of cremation observed, followed by the ceremonial bathing by the funeral party and the offering of a handful of water mixed with seasame seeds to the departed soul. After ascertaining the views of all the Smriti texts, the Vedas and the Puranas, Bharata made the ten days’ offering to the dead. (The ceremony of dashagatra consists in offering to the departed soul a ball of boiled rice on each of the ten days following the cremation of the deceased.)

Whatever order the high sage gave him at any time Bharata carried out a thousand times over He bestowed abundant gifts on attaining purity. (The Hindus believe that the agnates and certain other relations of the deceased remain impure for a number of days and are purified only after the prescribed period is over). He gave away cows, horses, elephants and all kinds of carriages,