The second part of the Ramayana introduces us to Bharata. Upon returning to the palace, he learns that his father, King Dasharatha, had passed away. Bharata is distraught by his father's death and weeps aloud. However, Queen Kaikeyi does not shed tears but rather tells him what happened in the palace in his absence. However, Bharata is not like his mother. He feels his mother is the reason his father died and he loves his brother Rama very much. He tells her that he will bring Rama back from the jungle and give him the throne. He also apologizes to Rama's mother. Before any other steps are taken, Vashishtha reminds Bharata that he must perform the last rites of his father. So they travel to the outskirts of the city and burn his pyre. All of Dasharatha's wives and people weep at the loss of the King.
Bharata then goes to meet Rama and tells him that he should have the kingdom back but Rama refuses. Bharata then offer's Rama gold sandals but Rama returns them and tells Bharata he would live as a devotee for fourteen years. Bharata tells Rama that he will keep the sandals on the throne for fourteen years until Rama returns to claim the kingdom.
Moving on, we see Rama get into a fight with a rakshasa who tries to take Sita. However, instead of killing him, Rama and Lakshmana deposit him in a pit. By then, the rakshasa figures out that Rama is the son of the King. The trio then meets Agastya.
One day, Shurpanakha (rakshasa women and sister of Ravana (king of the rakshasas)) sees Rama and falls in love with him. She decides to entice him to leave Sita and disguises herself as a beautiful woman. She tells Rama to leave Lakshmana and Sita, but he refuses and she gets angry. She then tries to attack Sita, but Lakshmana cuts off her ears and nose. She runs to her brother, Khara, and tells him to bring Sita to her for revenge. Khara and his brother take an army of rakshasas to fight with Rama. But Rama single handly kills them all and the brothers. Shurpanakha then goes to her brother Ravana, the evilest of them all and King of the rakshasas. She tells him that the other brothers are dead and that the rakshasas are being made a laughing stock in the other worlds. She tells Ravana that he must take Sita to seak proper revenge. Maricha counsels Ravana that he must not mess with Rama, but if he wants to take Sita, it must be in a disguise. So Maricha dons the role fo a gold deer and when Sita sees him, she tells Rama she must have the deer. Rama then leaves to capture it. Maricha, pretending to be Rama, then calls out for help from Sita and Lakshmana. Lakshmana leaves to find Rama and Ravana arrives to meet Sita. He proposes to her but she denies it. He then takes her with him by force. Ravana takes Sita to his kingdom and keeps her captive.
When Rama returns to the hut, he finds Sita gone and is in much pain. He finds Jatayu, who tried to save Sita from Ravana, dead. They meet Kabandha, who tells them where to go to find Sita.
Bibliography: Public Domain Edition
Authors: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.
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