Valmiki Ramayana · Ayodhya Kanda · Sarga 1
गच्छता मातुलकुलं भरतेन तदाऽनघ। शत्रुघ्नो नित्यशत्रुघ्नो नीतः प्रीतिपुरस्कृतः
gacchatā mātulakulaṃ bharatena tadā'nagha| śatrughno nityaśatrughno nītaḥ prītipuraskṛtaḥ
Bharata set out for his maternal uncle's house. He took with him the sinless Satrughna who is always successful in destroying foes and on whom he had bestowed his love and affection.
— M.N. Dutt (1891)
Commentary
Ayodhya Kanda opens not with Rama but with Bharata's absence. He has gone to his maternal uncle's house with Shatrughna. The stage is set before the drama begins: when the crisis comes, the one who will benefit from it is not even present. The verse plants a seed of dramatic irony that will unfold across the entire kanda.
भरतमातुलअनघ