तदलं ते वनं गत्वा क्षमं न हि वनं तव।
विमृशन्निह पश्यामि बहुदोषतरं वनम्॥
tad alaṁ te vanaṁ gatvā kṣamaṁ na hi vanaṁ tava
vimṛśann iha paśyāmi bahu-doṣataraṁ vanam
tat = so; alam te vanam gatvā = enough of you going to the forest; kṣamam = is suitable; na hi = not at all; vanam = the forest; tava = for you; vimṛśan = considering; iha = all this; paśyāmi = I see; bahu-doṣataram = is filled with several difficulties; vanam = that the forest.
So enough of you going to the forest! The forest is not at all suitable for you. Considering all this, I see that the forest is filled with much more difficulties.1
1 Sītā-devī’s residence in the forest is fraught with more difficulties than her residence in Ayodhyā. Therefore, Śrī Rāma mentions the word bahu-doṣataram (“is filled with much more difficulties”).
NOTE. What is the purpose behind these scriptural prescriptions, allowances and prohibitions pertaining to residence in the forest? Prabhupāda explains it as follows:
One should be very careful of these three enemies to human life: lust, anger and greed. The more a person is freed from lust, anger and greed, the more his existence becomes pure. Then he can follow the rules and regulations enjoined in the Vedic literature. By following the regulative principles of human life, one gradually raises himself to the platform of spiritual realization. If one is so fortunate, by such practice, to rise to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then success is guaranteed for him. In the Vedic literature, the ways of action and reaction are prescribed to enable one to come to the stage of purification. The whole method is based on giving up lust, greed and anger. By cultivating knowledge of this process, one can be elevated to the highest position of self-realization; this self-realization is perfected in devotional service. In that devotional service, the liberation of the conditioned soul is guaranteed. (Bhagavad-gītā 16.22 purport)