पौरैरनुगतो दूरं पित्रा दशरथेन च।
शृङ्गिबेरपुरे सूतं गङ्गाकूले व्यसर्जयत्।
गुहमासाद्य धर्मात्मा निषादाधिपतिं प्रियम्॥
paurair anugato dūraṁ pitrā daśarathena ca
śṛṅgiberapure sūtaṁ gaṅgā-kūle vyasarjayat
guham āsādya dharmātmā niṣādādhipatiṁ priyam
pauraiḥ = by the residents of Ayodhyā City; anugataḥ = He was followed; dūram = for a long distance; pitrā = by Rāma’s father; daśarathena = Daśaratha; ca = and; śṛṅgiberapure = then at Śṛṅgiberapura; sūtam = His charioteer Sumantra; gaṅgā-kūle = on the bank of Gaṅgā; vyasarjayat = dismissed; guham = Guha; āsādya = when He met; dharmātmā = Rāma of a dhārmika nature; niṣāda-adhipatim = the chief of the niṣādas; priyam= His dear devotee.
He was followed by the residents of Ayodhyā City for a long distance and by Rāma’s father Daśaratha. [Then,] Rāma of a dhārmika nature dismissed His charioteer Sumantra at Śṛṅgiberapura on the bank of Gaṅgā, when He met His dear devotee Guha, the chief of the niṣādas.
This verse points out that all the residents of Ayodhyā City followed Lord Rāma like Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā because all of them had respect and love for Rāma.
All the residents of the city of Ayodhyā—women, children and the elderly—every resident of the city followed Rāma for a long distance. This indicates that they were unable to tolerate being separated from Him. Punar-viśleṣa-bhīrutvaṁ paramā bhaktir ucyate: “Fear of being separated again [from the Lord] is said to be supreme bhakti [for Him].” Mere residence in that city gave rise to rāma-bhakti. Daśaratha did not come a long distance, but came up to the gate.
Up till now, Lord Rāma’s supremacy and accessibility have been pointed out. Nārada Muni points out His affection for His surrendered devotees and His good character from the portion of the text beginning śṛṅgiberapure. Rāma’s dhārmika nature is His affection for His surrendered devotees and His good character.
Śṛṅgiberapura refers to the city where false bodies (bera) of the kṛṣṇasāra and other deer (śṛṅgi) were used to cheat deer [and thus procure them]. (Bera refers to false bodies according to the Vaijayantī-kośa [41].) They did not get down merely on the bank of the Gaṅgā; they got down at Śṛṅgiberapura on the bank of the Gaṅgā. This indicates that Lord Rāma was interested in Śṛṅgiberapura [that happened to be on the bank of the Gaṅgā] because it was resorted to by His devotee [Guha]. Authorities such as Vedānta-deśika state that even a place like Kāśī does not shine by itself [for it actually shines only in the association of good devotees] [42].
Niṣādas are born from marital combinations where the wife is superior in varṇa to the husband. The Vaijayantī states—niṣādo
mṛga-ghātī syāt: “A niṣāda is a deer hunter.” Guha was the ruler of the niṣādas. He was dear to the Lord. Though he was socially inferior in terms of his birth, occupation, qualities and family background, simply because he was favorably [serving] Lord Rāma, He honored him. This reveals Lord Rāma’s good nature.
Lord Rāma dismissed Sumantra who had been traditionally the charioteer [for the royalty as soon as He saw Guha] just as a cow is so affectionate to her newly born calf that she neglects her previously born calf. This reveals the Lord’s abundant affection [for Guha].