# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 46 — Rāma crosses the Gaṅgā

*He sends Sumantra back as proof of departure, forms matted locks with banyan sap and crosses while Sītā prays*

Portion: The river journey to Citrakūṭa · Verses: 79 · Ref format: 2.46.<verse>

## Sequence

- At dawn Rāma prepares to cross the river (46.1–5)
- he tells Sumantra that they will now continue on foot and that he must return with the chariot → the driver protests at the injustice of Rāma's hardship (46.6–13)
- Rāma asks him to support the aging, distressed Daśaratha and carry the assurance that all three will return after fourteen years (46.14–22)
- he sends greetings to all the Queens, asks that Bharata be brought back and installed, and tells Bharata to honor every mother, especially Kausalyā (46.23–28).

- Sumantra pleads to stay: he cannot face returning with the empty chariot or telling Kausalyā where her son has gone (46.29–37)
- he offers to serve them in the forest and bring them home when the exile ends (46.38–48)
- Rāma explains why he must return: the empty chariot will convince Kaikeyī that the exile is real and protect Daśaratha from suspicion of evading his promise (46.49–54)
- he asks Guha for banyan sap and uses it to form his and Lakṣmaṇa's hair into matted locks → he advises Guha to guard his army, treasury, forts, and territory, then says goodbye (46.55–60).

- Lakṣmaṇa helps Sītā into the boat and boards after her; Rāma boards too and takes leave of Guha and Sumantra → Guha's men row them across (46.61–66)
- in midstream, Sītā prays to the Gaṅgā that Rāma may complete the fourteen years safely with herself and Lakṣmaṇa and return to his Kingdom → she promises worship and gifts of cattle, clothing, and food to brāhmaṇas when they return (46.67–73)
- on the southern bank, Rāma arranges their walking order: Lakṣmaṇa in front, Sītā in the middle, and himself behind to guard them both (46.74–77)
- Sumantra watches them with tears flowing (46.78)
- hungry, the brothers kill a boar, an ṛśya antelope, a spotted deer, and a ruru deer, take meat fit to eat, and stop beneath a tree for the night (46.79).

## Verses

**2.46.1**  
prabhātāyāṃ tu śarvaryāṃ pṛthu vṛkṣā mahāyaśāḥ  
uvāca rāmaḥ saumitriṃ lakṣmaṇaṃ śubhalakṣaṇam  
When the night had brightened into dawn, the broad-chested, greatly renowned Rāma said to Saumitri, to Lakṣmaṇa of auspicious marks:

**2.46.2**  
bhāskarodayakālo 'yaṃ gatā bhagavatī niśā  
asau sukṛṣṇo vihagaḥ kokilas tāta kūjati  
'This is the hour of the sun's rising; the venerable night has passed; yonder, dear one, the deep-black bird, the cuckoo, is calling.'

**2.46.3**  
barhiṇānāṃ ca nirghoṣaḥ śrūyate nadatāṃ vane  
tarāma jāhnavīṃ saumya śīghragāṃ sāgaraṃgamām  
'And the cry of the peacocks calling in the forest is heard; let us cross the swift-flowing Jāhnavī, gentle one, that runs to the sea.'

**2.46.4**  
vijñāya rāmasya vacaḥ saumitrir mitranandanaḥ  
guham āmantrya sūtaṃ ca so 'tiṣṭhad bhrātur agrataḥ  
Understanding Rāma's word, Saumitri, the delight of his friends, having taken leave of Guha and the charioteer, stood before his brother.

**2.46.5**  
tataḥ kalāpān saṃnahya khaḍgau baddhvā ca dhanvinau  
jagmatur yena tau gaṅgāṃ sītayā saha rāghavau  
Then, strapping on their quivers and girding on their two swords, the two bow-bearing Rāghavas, together with Sītā, went to where the Gaṅgā lay.

**2.46.6**  
rāmam eva tu dharmajñam upagamya vinītavat  
kim ahaṃ karavāṇīti sūtaḥ prāñjalir abravīt  
Approaching Rāma, the knower of dharma, humbly, the charioteer, palms joined, said, 'What am I to do?'

**2.46.7**  
nivartasvety uvācainam etāvad dhi kṛtaṃ mama  
yānaṃ vihāya padbhyāṃ tu gamiṣyāmo mahāvanam  
'Turn back,' he said to him; 'this much has been done for me. Leaving the chariot, we shall go on foot into the great forest.'

**2.46.8**  
ātmānaṃ tv abhyanujñātam avekṣyārtaḥ sa sārathiḥ  
sumantraḥ puruṣavyāghram aikṣvākam idam abravīt  
But seeing himself thus dismissed, the charioteer Sumantra, distressed, said this to the tiger among men, the scion of Ikṣvāku:

**2.46.9**  
nātikrāntam idaṃ loke puruṣeṇeha kena cit  
tava sabhrātṛbhāryasya vāsaḥ prākṛtavad vane  
'Never in the world has this been undergone by any man — such a dwelling in the forest, like a common man's, as yours, with your brother and your wife.'

**2.46.10**  
na manye brahmacarye 'sti svadhīte vā phalodayaḥ  
mārdavārjavayor vāpi tvāṃ ced vyasanam āgatam  
'I do not think there is any fruit in chastity, or in good study, or even in gentleness and uprightness, if calamity has come upon you.'

**2.46.11**  
saha rāghava vaidehyā bhrātrā caiva vane vasan  
tvaṃ gatiṃ prāpsyase vīra trīṃl lokāṃs tu jayann iva  
'Yet dwelling in the forest with Vaidehī and with your brother, O Rāghava, you will attain glory, O hero, as though conquering the three worlds.'

**2.46.12**  
vayaṃ khalu hatā rāma ye tayāpy upavañcitāḥ  
kaikeyyā vaśam eṣyāmaḥ pāpāyā duḥkhabhāginaḥ  
'But we indeed are ruined, Rāma — we who, cheated by her, shall fall under the sway of the wicked Kaikeyī, we, doomed to sorrow.'

**2.46.13**  
iti bruvann ātma samaṃ sumantraḥ sārathis tadā  
dṛṣṭvā dura gataṃ rāmaṃ duḥkhārto rurude ciram  
Speaking thus, the charioteer Sumantra then, seeing Rāma — dear to him as his own self — gone far off, wept a long while, stricken with grief.

**2.46.14**  
tatas tu vigate bāṣpe sūtaṃ spṛṣṭodakaṃ śucim  
rāmas tu madhuraṃ vākyaṃ punaḥ punar uvāca tam  
Then, when the charioteer's tears had passed and he had touched water and grown pure, Rāma spoke to him sweet words again and again:

**2.46.15**  
ikṣvākūṇāṃ tvayā tulyaṃ suhṛdaṃ nopalakṣaye  
yathā daśaratho rājā māṃ na śocet tathā kuru  
'I know no friend of the Ikṣvākus equal to you; act so that King Daśaratha may not grieve for me.'

**2.46.16**  
śokopahata cetāś ca vṛddhaś ca jagatīpatiḥ  
kāma bhārāvasannaś ca tasmād etad bravīmi te  
'The lord of the earth is old, his mind stricken by grief, and sinking beneath the burden of desire; that is why I say this to you.'

**2.46.17**  
yad yad ājñāpayet kiṃ cit sa mahātmā mahīpatiḥ  
kaikeyyāḥ priyakāmārthaṃ kāryaṃ tad avikāṅkṣayā  
'Whatever that great-souled lord of the earth may command, to please the wishes of Kaikeyī, that must be carried out without demur.'

**2.46.18**  
etadarthaṃ hi rājyāni praśāsati nareśvarāḥ  
yad eṣāṃ sarvakṛtyeṣu mano na pratihanyate  
'For to this end do lords of men govern kingdoms — that in none of their undertakings should their will be thwarted.'

**2.46.19**  
tad yathā sa mahārājo nālīkam adhigacchati  
na ca tāmyati duḥkhena sumantra kuru tat tathā  
'So act, Sumantra, in such a way that the great king does not fall into (thoughts of) deceit, nor languish with grief.'

**2.46.20**  
adṛṣṭaduḥkhaṃ rājānaṃ vṛddham āryaṃ jitendriyam  
brūyās tvam abhivādyaiva mama hetor idaṃ vacaḥ  
'Saluting the king — who has never known sorrow, aged, noble, master of his senses — you should on my behalf speak this word:'

**2.46.21**  
naivāham anuśocāmi lakṣmaṇo na ca maithilī  
ayodhyāyāś cyutāś ceti vane vatsyāmaheti vā  
'Neither do I grieve at all, nor Lakṣmaṇa, nor the princess of Mithilā, whether at being fallen from Ayodhyā, or (thinking) "we shall dwell in the forest."'

**2.46.22**  
caturdaśasu varṣeṣu nivṛtteṣu punaḥ punaḥ  
lakṣmaṇaṃ māṃ ca sītāṃ ca drakṣyasi kṣipram āgatān  
'When the fourteen years are over, you will soon see Lakṣmaṇa, and me, and Sītā come back once more.'

**2.46.23**  
evam uktvā tu rājānaṃ mātaraṃ ca sumantra me  
anyāś ca devīḥ sahitāḥ kaikeyīṃ ca punaḥ punaḥ  
'Having thus addressed the king, and my mother, Sumantra, and all the other queens together, and Kaikeyī, again and again,'

**2.46.24**  
ārogyaṃ brūhi kausalyām atha pādābhivandanam  
sītāyā mama cāryasya vacanāl lakṣmaṇasya ca  
'convey to Kausalyā a wish for her health, and then a salutation at her feet — in the words of Sītā, of me, and of noble Lakṣmaṇa.'

**2.46.25**  
brūyāś ca hi mahārājaṃ bharataṃ kṣipram ānaya  
āgataś cāpi bharataḥ sthāpyo nṛpamate pade  
'And you should say to the great king: "Bring Bharata quickly; and Bharata, once he has come, should be installed in the royal office."'

**2.46.26**  
bharataṃ ca pariṣvajya yauvarājye 'bhiṣicya ca  
asmatsaṃtāpajaṃ duḥkhaṃ na tvām abhibhaviṣyati  
'And once you have embraced Bharata and consecrated him as heir-apparent, the grief born of sorrow for us will not overwhelm you.'

**2.46.27**  
bharataś cāpi vaktavyo yathā rājani vartase  
tathā mātṛṣu vartethāḥ sarvāsv evāviśeṣataḥ  
'And Bharata too should be told: "As you bear yourself toward the king, so you should bear yourself toward all the mothers, without distinction."'

**2.46.28**  
yathā ca tava kaikeyī sumitrā cāviśeṣataḥ  
tathaiva devī kausalyā mama mātā viśeṣataḥ  
'And as Kaikeyī and Sumitrā are to you without distinction, just so is Queen Kausalyā, my mother, especially (to be honored).'

**2.46.29**  
nivartyamāno rāmeṇa sumantraḥ śokakarśitaḥ  
tat sarvaṃ vacanaṃ śrutvā snehāt kākutstham abravīt  
Sumantra, being sent back by Rāma, worn thin with grief, having heard all that speech, said to Kākutstha out of affection:

**2.46.30**  
yad ahaṃ nopacāreṇa brūyāṃ snehād aviklavaḥ  
bhaktimān iti tat tāvad vākyaṃ tvaṃ kṣantum arhasi  
'If, out of affection and not by mere courtesy, I — steadfast and devoted — should say something, that speech, at least, you ought to forgive.'

**2.46.31**  
kathaṃ hi tvadvihīno 'haṃ pratiyāsyāmi tāṃ purīm  
tava tāta viyogena putraśokākulām iva  
'For how shall I, bereft of you, return to that city, which through separation from you, dear one, is as though distraught with grief for a son?'

**2.46.32**  
sarāmam api tāvan me rathaṃ dṛṣṭvā tadā janaḥ  
vinā rāmaṃ rathaṃ dṛṣṭvā vidīryetāpi sā purī  
'The people grieved even at seeing my chariot with Rāma in it as it left; how much more, seeing the chariot without Rāma, would that city burst asunder!'

**2.46.33**  
dainyaṃ hi nagarī gacched dṛṣṭvā śūnyam imaṃ ratham  
sūtāvaśeṣaṃ svaṃ sainyaṃ hatavīram ivāhave  
'For seeing this empty chariot, with only the driver left, the city would sink into wretchedness, like an army in battle whose hero has been slain.'

**2.46.34**  
dūre 'pi nivasantaṃ tvāṃ mānasenāgrataḥ sthitam  
cintayantyo 'dya nūnaṃ tvāṃ nirāhārāḥ kṛtāḥ prajāḥ  
'Though you dwell far away, the people, picturing you standing before them in their minds, thinking of you today, are surely rendered unable to eat.'

**2.46.35**  
ārtanādo hi yaḥ paurair muktas tadvipravāsane  
rathasthaṃ māṃ niśāmyaiva kuryuḥ śataguṇaṃ tataḥ  
'The cry of anguish that the citizens raised at his going into exile — seeing me back in the chariot, they would then make it a hundredfold greater.'

**2.46.36**  
ahaṃ kiṃ cāpi vakṣyāmi devīṃ tava suto mayā  
nīto 'sau mātulakulaṃ saṃtāpaṃ mā kṛthā iti  
'And what shall I say to the queen, your mother? "Your son was taken by me to his maternal uncle's house; do not grieve"?'

**2.46.37**  
asatyam api naivāhaṃ brūyāṃ vacanam īdṛśam  
katham apriyam evāhaṃ brūyāṃ satyam idaṃ vacaḥ  
'I could not utter such a false statement; yet how am I to speak this true but unwelcome word?'

**2.46.38**  
mama tāvan niyogasthās tvadbandhujanavāhinaḥ  
kathaṃ rathaṃ tvayā hīnaṃ pravakṣyanti hayottamāḥ  
'How shall these excellent horses of mine, obedient to command and used to bearing your kinsmen, draw the chariot bereft of you?'

**2.46.39**  
yadi me yācamānasya tyāgam eva kariṣyasi  
saratho 'gniṃ pravekṣyāmi tyakta mātra iha tvayā  
'If, though I plead with you, you will nonetheless forsake me, then, together with the chariot, I shall enter the fire the very moment I am abandoned by you here.'

**2.46.40**  
bhaviṣyanti vane yāni tapovighnakarāṇi te  
rathena pratibādhiṣye tāni sattvāni rāghava  
'Whatever creatures there will be in the forest that hinder your austerities, those, O Rāghava, I shall drive off with the chariot.'

**2.46.41**  
tat kṛtena mayā prāptaṃ ratha caryā kṛtaṃ sukham  
āśaṃse tvatkṛtenāhaṃ vanavāsakṛtaṃ sukham  
'The happiness that comes of driving the chariot I have gained through this service of mine; through your grace I hope, too, for the happiness that comes of dwelling in the forest.'

**2.46.42**  
prasīdecchāmi te 'raṇye bhavituṃ pratyanantaraḥ  
prītyābhihitam icchāmi bhava me patyanantaraḥ  
'Be gracious! I wish to be your close attendant in the forest; grant what is asked in love, I beg — be near at hand to me.'

**2.46.43**  
tava śuśrūṣaṇaṃ mūrdhnā kariṣyāmi vane vasan  
ayodhyāṃ devalokaṃ vā sarvathā prajahāmy aham  
'Dwelling in the forest, I shall render you service with my head bowed; Ayodhyā, or even the world of the gods, I wholly renounce.'

**2.46.44**  
na hi śakyā praveṣṭuṃ sā mayāyodhyā tvayā vinā  
rājadhānī mahendrasya yathā duṣkṛtakarmaṇā  
'For that Ayodhyā cannot be entered by me without you, any more than the capital of great Indra can be entered by an evildoer.'

**2.46.45**  
ime cāpi hayā vīra yadi te vanavāsinaḥ  
paricaryāṃ kariṣyanti prāpsyanti paramāṃ gatim  
'And these horses too, O hero, if they render service to you, the forest-dweller, will attain the highest state.'

**2.46.46**  
vanavāse kṣayaṃ prāpte mamaiṣa hi manorathaḥ  
yad anena rathenaiva tvāṃ vaheyaṃ purīṃ punaḥ  
'When the forest-dwelling has reached its end, this is my heart's desire: that with this very chariot I may carry you back to the city again.'

**2.46.47**  
caturdaśa hi varṣāṇi sahitasya tvayā vane  
kṣaṇabhūtāni yāsyanti śataśas tu tato 'nyathā  
'For the fourteen years spent with you in the forest will pass as though a single moment; but otherwise, they would seem a hundred times as long.'

**2.46.48**  
bhṛtyavatsala tiṣṭhantaṃ bhartṛputragate pathi  
bhaktaṃ bhṛtyaṃ sthitaṃ sthityāṃ tvaṃ na māṃ hātum arhasi  
'O lover of your servants, you ought not to abandon me — a devoted servant, standing firm in his duty, keeping to the road along which my master's son has gone.'

**2.46.49**  
evaṃ bahuvidhaṃ dīnaṃ yācamānaṃ punaḥ punaḥ  
rāmo bhṛtyānukampī tu sumantram idam abravīt  
To Sumantra, thus begging piteously in many ways again and again, Rāma, compassionate to his servants, said this:

**2.46.50**  
jānāmi paramāṃ bhaktiṃ mayi te bhartṛvatsala  
śṛṇu cāpi yadarthaṃ tvāṃ preṣayāmi purīm itaḥ  
'I know your supreme devotion to me, O loyal one; but hear also for what purpose I am sending you back to the city from here.'

**2.46.51**  
nagarīṃ tvāṃ gataṃ dṛṣṭvā jananī me yavīyasī  
kaikeyī pratyayaṃ gacched iti rāmo vanaṃ gataḥ  
'Seeing you returned to the city, my younger mother Kaikeyī may gain assurance that "Rāma has truly gone to the forest."'

**2.46.52**  
parituṣṭā hi sā devi vanavāsaṃ gate mayi  
rājānaṃ nātiśaṅketa mithyāvādīti dhārmikam  
'For that queen, well satisfied that I have gone to dwell in the forest, will not suspect the righteous king of being a liar.'

**2.46.53**  
eṣa me prathamaḥ kalpo yad ambā me yavīyasī  
bharatārakṣitaṃ sphītaṃ putrarājyam avāpnuyāt  
'This is my foremost design — that my younger mother may obtain a flourishing kingdom for her son, guarded by Bharata.'

**2.46.54**  
mama priyārthaṃ rājñaś ca sarathas tvaṃ purīṃ vraja  
saṃdiṣṭaś cāsi yānarthāṃs tāṃs tān brūyās tathātathā  
'For my sake and the king's, go with the chariot to the city; and the messages with which you are charged, deliver them, each just so.'

**2.46.55**  
ity uktvā vacanaṃ sūtaṃ sāntvayitvā punaḥ punaḥ  
guhaṃ vacanam aklībaṃ rāmo hetumad abravīt  
jaṭāḥ kṛtvā gamiṣyāmi nyagrodhakṣīram ānaya  
Having said this and consoled the charioteer again and again, Rāma spoke to Guha a manly, well-reasoned word: 'I shall go having made matted locks; bring the milky sap of the banyan.'

**2.46.56**  
tat kṣīraṃ rājaputrāya guhaḥ kṣipram upāharat  
lakṣmaṇasyātmanaś caiva rāmas tenākaroj jaṭāḥ  
Guha quickly brought that sap to the prince; and with it Rāma fashioned matted locks for Lakṣmaṇa and for himself.

**2.46.57**  
tau tadā cīravasanau jaṭāmaṇḍaladhāriṇau  
aśobhetām ṛṣisamau bhrātarau rāmalakṣmaṇau  
Then the two brothers, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, clad in bark garments and wearing masses of matted hair, shone forth like two seers.

**2.46.58**  
tato vaikhānasaṃ mārgam āsthitaḥ sahalakṣmaṇaḥ  
vratam ādiṣṭavān rāmaḥ sahāyaṃ guham abravīt  
Then Rāma, together with Lakṣmaṇa, having taken up the way of the forest anchorites and undertaken the vow, said to his companion Guha:

**2.46.59**  
apramatto bale kośe durge janapade tathā  
bhavethā guha rājyaṃ hi durārakṣatamaṃ matam  
'Be vigilant, Guha, over your army, treasury, fortresses, and countryside; for a kingdom is held the hardest of all things to guard.'

**2.46.60**  
tatas taṃ samanujñāya guham ikṣvākunandanaḥ  
jagāma tūrṇam avyagraḥ sabhāryaḥ sahalakṣmaṇaḥ  
Then, taking leave of that Guha, the delight of the Ikṣvākus went on swiftly and composed, with his wife and with Lakṣmaṇa.

**2.46.61**  
sa tu dṛṣṭvā nadītīre nāvam ikṣvākunandanaḥ  
titīrṣuḥ śīghragāṃ gaṅgām idaṃ lakṣmaṇam abravīt  
Seeing a boat on the river-bank, the delight of the Ikṣvākus, wishing to cross the swift Gaṅgā, said this to Lakṣmaṇa:

**2.46.62**  
āroha tvaṃ nara vyāghra sthitāṃ nāvam imāṃ śanaiḥ  
sītāṃ cāropayānvakṣaṃ parigṛhya manasvinīm  
'Board gently this boat that lies at rest, O tiger among men; and lift the high-spirited Sītā aboard right after, holding her carefully.'

**2.46.63**  
sa bhrātuḥ śāsanaṃ śrutvā sarvam apratikūlayan  
āropya maithilīṃ pūrvam ārurohātmavāṃs tataḥ  
Hearing his brother's command and in nothing opposing it, the self-possessed one first helped the Maithilī aboard and then mounted himself.

**2.46.64**  
athāruroha tejasvī svayaṃ lakṣmaṇapūrvajaḥ  
tato niṣādādhipatir guho jñātīn acodayat  
Then the majestic elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa himself mounted; thereupon Guha, lord of the Niṣādas, urged on his kinsmen.

**2.46.65**  
anujñāya sumantraṃ ca sabalaṃ caiva taṃ guham  
āsthāya nāvaṃ rāmas tu codayām āsa nāvikān  
And taking leave of Sumantra and of Guha with his troop, Rāma, boarding the boat, urged on the boatmen.

**2.46.66**  
tatas taiś coditā sā nauḥ karṇadhārasamāhitā  
śubhasphyavegābhihatā śīghraṃ salilam atyagāt  
Then that boat, urged on by them, steadied by the helmsman, driven by the force of the fine oars, swiftly sped across the water.

**2.46.67**  
madhyaṃ tu samanuprāpya bhāgīrathyās tv aninditā  
vaidehī prāñjalir bhūtvā tāṃ nadīm idam abravīt  
On reaching the middle of the Bhāgīrathī, the blameless Vaidehī, joining her palms, spoke thus to that river:

**2.46.68**  
putro daśarathasyāyaṃ mahārājasya dhīmataḥ  
nideśaṃ pālayatv enaṃ gaṅge tvadabhirakṣitaḥ  
'This is the son of the wise great king Daśaratha; may he, protected by you, O Gaṅgā, fulfill this his charge.'

**2.46.69**  
caturdaśa hi varṣāṇi samagrāṇy uṣya kānane  
bhrātrā saha mayā caiva punaḥ pratyāgamiṣyati  
'For, having dwelt fourteen full years in the forest, he will return again, together with his brother and with me.'

**2.46.70**  
tatas tvāṃ devi subhage kṣemeṇa punar āgatā  
yakṣye pramuditā gaṅge sarvakāmasamṛddhaye  
'Then, O blessed goddess Gaṅgā, having safely returned, I shall worship you with joy, for the fulfillment of all my desires.'

**2.46.71**  
tvaṃ hi tripathagā devi brahma lokaṃ samīkṣase  
bhāryā codadhirājasya loke 'smin saṃpradṛśyase  
'For you, O goddess, flowing in three paths, look upon the world of Brahmā; and as the wife of the ocean-king, you are seen here in this world.'

**2.46.72**  
sā tvāṃ devi namasyāmi praśaṃsāmi ca śobhane  
prāpta rājye naravyāghra śivena punar āgate  
'So I bow to you, O goddess, and praise you, O lovely one; (I shall worship you) when the tiger among men, having regained his kingdom, has auspiciously come back again.'

**2.46.73**  
gavāṃ śatasahasrāṇi vastrāṇy annaṃ ca peśalam  
brāhmaṇebhyaḥ pradāsyāmi tava priyacikīrṣayā  
'I shall give to the brahmins hundreds of thousands of cows, garments, and fine food, out of a wish to please you.'

**2.46.74**  
tathā saṃbhāṣamāṇā sā sītā gaṅgām aninditā  
dakṣiṇā dakṣiṇaṃ tīraṃ kṣipram evābhyupāgamat  
Speaking thus to the Gaṅgā, the blameless, gracious Sītā quickly reached the southern bank.

**2.46.75**  
tīraṃ tu samanuprāpya nāvaṃ hitvā nararṣabhaḥ  
prātiṣṭhata saha bhrātrā vaidehyā ca paraṃtapaḥ  
Reaching the bank and leaving the boat, the bull among men, scorcher of foes, set out together with his brother and Vaidehī.

**2.46.76**  
athābravīn mahābāhuḥ sumitrānandavardhanam  
agrato gaccha saumitre sītā tvām anugacchatu  
Then the mighty-armed one said to Saumitri, the increaser of Sumitrā's joy: 'Go in front, Saumitri; let Sītā follow you.'

**2.46.77**  
pṛṣṭhato 'haṃ gamiṣyāmi tvāṃ ca sītāṃ ca pālayan  
adya duḥkhaṃ tu vaidehī vanavāsasya vetsyati  
'I shall go behind, guarding both you and Sītā; today, though, Vaidehī will come to know the hardship of forest-dwelling.'

**2.46.78**  
gataṃ tu gaṅgāparapāram āśu rāmaṃ sumantraḥ pratataṃ nirīkṣya  
adhvaprakarṣād vinivṛttadṛṣṭir mumoca bāṣpaṃ vyathitas tapasvī  
Gazing long after Rāma, who had swiftly gone to the far shore of the Gaṅgā, until his sight was cut off by the great length of the road, the wretched Sumantra, sore troubled, shed tears.

**2.46.79**  
tau tatra hatvā caturo mahāmṛgān varāham ṛśyaṃ pṛṣataṃ mahārurum  
ādāya medhyaṃ tvaritaṃ bubhukṣitau vāsāya kāle yayatur vanaspatim  
There the two, having killed four great beasts — a boar, an ṛśya antelope, a spotted deer, and a great ruru deer — and, being hungry, swiftly taking the pure meat, went at the proper time to a forest tree to lodge.