Lord Rāma emphatically declared that He was not interested in whatever King Daśaratha wanted to send with Him. He then requested the servants to bring him clothes of bark. When Kaikeyī handed Him those clothes, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa discarded Their royal attire and put on those clothes. When Sītā found it difficult to wear such clothes, Rāma helped her. Vasiṣṭha stated that Sītā did not have to wear clothes of bark, but Sītā-devī wanted to accept the same dhārmika vows that her husband had accepted and so discarded his request.