Yudhājit
Yudhājit was a prince of the Kekaya kingdom, and later its king. He was the brother of Kaikeyī, so he was the maternal uncle of Bharata. The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa names him in the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa in the account of Bharata’s stay in Kekaya at the time of Rāma’s exile.
His part in the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa
Before the coronation events, Yudhājit came to Ayodhyā to bring Bharata to the court of Kekaya. Bharata went with his uncle to visit his maternal grandfather and the Kekaya court.
Because of this visit, Bharata was away from Ayodhyā during the whole chain of events:
- Daśaratha announced the coronation.
- Mantharā schemed.
- Kaikeyī made her demands.
- Rāma went into exile.
- Daśaratha died.
Bharata knew nothing of any of this while he was in Kekaya. When messengers brought him the news, he was shocked and filled with grief.
The Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa makes clear that Bharata had no part in Kaikeyī’s plan and no knowledge of it. His absence was innocent, the result of a visit that Yudhājit arranged long before the crisis. So Bharata’s refusal of the throne was fully sincere.
Sources
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 67–70