Bharata's excitement mounted as he neared the abode of Rama requesting Vasishta to bring the queens, he strode ahead. Beholding what seemed to be the leafy cottage of Rama, Bharata saw a pile of chopped wood and flowers gathered for worship. Dried dung of deer and buffalo lay piled to be burnt on a cold night. Strips of bark and pieces of reed were tied to trees and bushes, as signs of different paths and some were meant to denote the whereabout of Rama and Lakshmana. Bharata told Satrughna, that the smoke they had seen rose from the perpetual fires that the ascetics protected and maintained in the forest for their worship. "Here I will surely behold my brother who inhabits these fearsome forests because of me. I will now absolve myself, by falling at the feet of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana to regain their grace," lamented Bharata.

What Bharata had sought from the moment he had heard the dreadful news of Rama's exile, he now saw. An aura of profound sanctity prevailed around the cottage glowing with the effulgence of a sacrificial altar. There, gold plated bows and formidable arrows sparkled and radiated light, like the rays of the sun. Razor sharp swords rested snugly in scabbards of gold and shields of chased silver, studded with yellow nails of gold, twinkled like the stars. Gauntlets and finger guards of deerskin embellished with burnished gold, hung around enhancing the magnificence of the awesome array of weapons.

Thus came into sight the most beautiful and sacred home of Rama, impregnable as a fortress and inviolable to the enemy. Neither beast nor man dared to tread on its hallowed grounds. Just as deer keep away from a lion's lair, so did all keep away from the hermitage of that mighty prince of Ayodhya. Bharata's roving gaze suddenly stilled. He stood transfixed, as his eyes riveted on an image, to behold which, his soul had pined endlessly, and his mind had agonized relentlessly. He beheld Rama his brother and his very life, a life more precious than the one he recognized as his own. Mighty and broad shouldered, with eyes like limpid pools, the lord of the ocean bound earth sat on a pile of kusa grass, God like and effulgent as Brahma. By his side sat Sita and Lakshmana.

Bharata stood like one hypnotized as he looked unbelievingly. Snapping out of his trance, he broke down at the sight of Rama clad in ascetic garb. Choking with grief he said, "An emperor who should be holding court, with the most exalted of men that inhabit the earth, now sits, garbed in deer skin, attended by beasts that inhabit the wild. A body perfumed with rare unguents, caressed by the finest and most expensive of silks is now robed in coarse bark. How can Rama ever bear the weight of his matted locks?" Cursed by my existence, that causes pain to all, they blame me for my cruelty and they blame me for depriving Rama of the luxuries of the palace". Distraught, overwhelmed and unable to say even another word beyond 'Arya', he fell at Rama's feet as did Satrughna. Rama tenderly gathered them into his embrace even as his tears mingled with those of his brothers.