Why Bharadwaj Says, “I Heard You Were Sent to the Forest”

Question

In the story, Bharadwaj says, “I heard that you were sent to the forest without reason.” What does that mean?

Answer

This kind of statement appears repeatedly throughout the Ramayana. Why? Because the ācharaṇ-parak man—the conduct-oriented mind—has reached the stage where it can live knowledge in action, but it is not yet trikāladarshī (one who sees past, present, and future). It has not seen the truth directly; it has only heard it.

So, when Bharadwaj says, “I have heard that you were exiled without reason,” it signifies that the conduct-oriented mind has only heard about certain truths; it has not yet experienced or realized them within itself. It repeats what it has heard. There is nothing wrong or inferior about this—it’s simply a stage of growth.

This is part of the narrative style of the Ramayana. In such stories, certain linking details are added to weave the sequence together. Not every single line or word of the Ramayana carries a deep philosophical meaning (tattva drishti). Some parts describe ordinary worldly situations to maintain the flow of the story.

Because the Ramayana is a mahākāvya—a grand epic—not an Upanishad or a purely philosophical text of direct statements. A mahākāvya must contain all its defining features: references to sciences, arts, rituals, seasons, architecture, and everyday life.

So you’ll find mentions of astrology, vastu, cooking, different seasons, and people’s customs—these are all part of the epic’s form. The Ramayana, while filled with profound truths, is also a complete mahākāvya, not merely a book of aphorisms like the Vedas or Upanishads.