Bharata
Indian mythology · king · renunciation of power
The brother for whose sake Rama was exiled, who wanted none of it. Refusing the stolen throne, he ruled fourteen years as regent from a village outside the capital, with Rama's sandals on the throne.
Stories
Rama's Exile
On the eve of Rama's coronation, Manthara's whispers turn Kaikeyi's love to fear, and two old boons undo a kingdom: her son crowned, Rama banished fourteen years. Rama accepts without bitterness, Sita and Lakshmana follow him into the forest, and Dasharatha dies of grief.
Bharata's Sandals
Returning to find his mother's crime and his father dead, Bharata refuses the stolen throne and marches to the forest to bring Rama home. Rama will not break his father's word; Bharata carries back his brother's sandals, sets them on the throne, and rules fourteen years as their regent.