Rama asked Bharata why he had come to Chitrakuta, renouncing a kingdom bestowed upon him and Bharata replied "Rama while I was away at Kekaya, the king impelled by Kaikeyi, my evil minded mother, bade you to the jungles. His fame clouded by that blame, shadowed his unblemished life and unable to endure your separation, he soon succumbed to his great grief. May that Kaikeyi the reproach behind it all be widowed and cast into hell! Accept the throne, which belongs to you. The people of Ayodhya and our mothers desire it and the earth wants to be united with her rightful lord.

Beholding Bharata's anguish Rama gently embraced him and said, "Born of the peerless dynasty of the Ikshvakus, how can you who are so disciplined transgress by wishing not to rule. I do not see any fault on your part and in your ignorance do not pile accusations on your mother. A mother deserves as much reverence as a father who is worshipped by the world. The king alone has the authority to decide my place of domicile. Commanded by my parents to inhabit the woods, how can I contradict? You have to accept Ayodhya and I have to accept Dandakaranya, as decreed by Dasaratha whose word is law. I do not want what he did not wish for me, even if it were the supremacy of the universe."