धर्मस्तु गजनासोरु सद्भिराचरितः पुरा।
तं चाहमनुवर्तिष्ये यथा सूर्यं सुवर्चला॥
dharmas tu gaja-nāsoru sadbhir ācaritaḥ purā
taṁ cāham anuvartiṣye yathā sūryaṁ suvarcalā
dharmaḥ tu = the dharma of vānaprasthas; gaja-nāsa-ūru = O lady whose thighs resemble the trunk of an elephant; sadbhiḥ = by saintly kings with their wives; ācaritaḥ = has been executed; purā = in the past; tam ca = that dharma; aham = I; anuvartiṣye = will follow; yathā = just as; sūryam = [followed] Sūrya; suvarcalā = Suvarcalā.
O lady whose thighs resemble the trunk of an elephant, the dharma of vānaprasthas has been executed by saintly kings with their wives in the past. I will follow that dharma which has been executed by the saintly in the past just as Suvarcalā [followed] Sūrya.
1 Mahābhārata 12.264.4: śyāmākam aśanaṃ tatra sūryapatnī suvarcalā. Mahābhārata 13.134.3-5: sāvitrī brahmaṇaḥ sādhvī kauśikasya śacī satī / mārtaṇḍajasya dhūmorṇā ṛddhir vaiśravaṇasya ca; varuṇasya tato gaurī sūryasya ca suvarcalā / rohiṇī śaśinaḥ sādhvī svāhā caiva vibhāvasoḥ; aditiḥ kaśyapasyātha sarvās tāḥ patidevatāḥ.
Yathā sūryaṁ suvarcalā also indicates that Lord Rāmacandra wanted Sītā-devī to follow Him just as Suvarcalā followed Sūrya.
NOTE. Suvarcalā is noted in the Mahābhārata as a very chaste wife of Sūrya.1
From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we learn that by accepting Sītā-devī as His companion in forest life, He wanted to teach humanity what happens when a man becomes lovingly attached to one’s wife.
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī reveals this intention of the Lord thus:
rakṣo-’dhamena vṛkavad vipine ’samakṣaṁ
vaideha-rāja-duhitary apayāpitāyām
bhrātrā vane kṛpaṇavat priyayā viyuktaḥ
strī-saṅgināṁ gatim iti prathayaṁś cacāra
“When Rāmacandra entered the forest and Lakṣmaṇa was also absent, the worst of the Rākṣasas, Rāvaṇa, kidnapped Sītādevī, the daughter of the King of Videha, just as a tiger seizes unprotected sheep when the shepherd is absent. Then Lord Rāmacandra wandered in the forest with His brother Lakṣmaṇa as if very much distressed due to separation from His wife. Thus He showed by His personal example the condition of a person attached to women.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.10.11)
Prabhupāda’s commentary on this verse includes the following:
In this verse the words strī-saṅgināṁ gatim iti indicate that the condition of a person attached to women was shown by the Lord Himself. According to moral instructions, gṛhe nārīṁ vivarjayet: when one goes on a tour, one should not bring his wife. Formerly men used to travel without conveyances, but still, as far as possible, when one leaves home one should not take his wife with him, especially if one is in such a condition as Lord Rāmacandra when banished by the order of His father. Whether in the forest or at home, if one is attached to women this attachment is always troublesome, as shown by the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His personal example.