66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

moment, Hanuman arrived in the form of a brahmin youth,
and the first thing he did was to put out the fire. Bharatha
asked, “Who are you? What right have you to extinguish a
fire I have raised?”
Hanuman explained, “I have brought you a message from
Rama. He will be here presently.”
Bharatha would not believe him, whereupon Hanuman
assumed for a moment his gigantic form, explaining who he
was, and then narrated to Bharatha all the incidents that had
taken place these fourteen years. “Now make a public
announcement of Rama’s coming,” he concluded, “and let all
the streets and buildings be decorated to receive him.”
This changed the whole atmosphere. Bharatha
immediately dispatched messengers to the city and made
preparations to receive Rama and lead him to his rightful
place back in Ayodhya.
Shortly, Rama’s Vimana arrived. Rama’s mothers, including
Kaikeyi, had assembled at Nandigram to receive him. The
reunion was a happy one. The first thing that Rama did was
to discard his austere garments. He groomed and clothed
himself as befitting a King, and he advised Sita to do
likewise. Vasishtha received the new King and Queen and
fixed the hour for the coronation, interrupted fourteen years
before.