नेदानीं गुह योग्योऽयं वासो मे सजने वने।
अवश्य ह्याश्रमे वासः कर्तव्यस्तद्गतो विधिः॥
nedānīṁ guha yogyo ’yaṁ vāso me sajane vane
avaśyaṁ hy āśrame vāsaḥ kartavyas tad-gato vidhiḥ
na = not; idānīm = now; guha = Guha; yogyaḥ = it is appropriate; ayam vāsaḥ = to reside; me = for Me; sajane = in a populated; vane = forest; avaśyam hi = certainly; āśrame = in an āśrama; vāsaḥ kartavyaḥ = I should reside; tat-gataḥ = was to that effect; vidhiḥ = for My father’s instruction.
Guha, it is not appropriate for Me to reside now in a populated forest. I should certainly reside in an āśrama for My father’s instruction was to that effect.1
1 To live in the forest for fourteen years meant to live in the forest following the restrictions of a vānaprastha as described in the Dharma-śāstras in a depopulated area, with or without one’s wife as one’s spiritual assistant. Notice that Lord Rāma teaches us to follow both the letter and spirit of the scriptures. Some follow the former alone, some follow the latter alone, some follow both and some follow neither. Lord Rāma instructs us through His behavior here that we should belong to the third of these four categories of people.