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Rh And it came to pass that some days later, when Bharata, the son of Kekai, returned to Ayodhya, he found that his father, Dasaratha, had died of grief. And when he discovered why and by whom this had been caused, he fell upon the hump-backed serving-woman, and in his wrath, although she was a woman, had almost slain her, till she, in her despair, took refuge in the name of Rama, and was spared. And when they told the young prince that the kingdom w^as his, he could hardly speak for wrath and shame. For in the eyes of Bharata there was none so beloved as his elder brother Rama. Likewise to him was his allegiance sacred, for he regarded Rama as his King.

Bharata, therefore, withdrew from Ayodhya-—leaving the sandals of Rama on the throne of the King, under the shadow of the royal umbrella—and stationed himself at Nandigrama, to rule the kingdom in his brother's name. Thus Kekai had not even the satisfaction of acting as the mother of the sovereign, for by Bharata's own orders all men continued to regard Rama as the monarch, and Kausalya his mother as the Queen-mother,