Rāma now says that He does not even love her as much as a bird grown up by His mother.

“That parrot” refers to a parrot that both Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa had known. Rāma considers here that that female parrot loved His mother more than Rāma loved His mother and that that parrot had generated more love in Kausalyā than Rāma had. “Bite the foot of the enemy” means “Bite the foot of the cat, our enemy” for it is [commonly] seen in the world that the female parrot nourished [at home] tells the parrot near it to bite the cat. “Bite the foot of the enemy” also indicates that the female parrot wants the male parrot to bite the foot of Kausalyā’s enemy. Rāma sorrowfully implies here that He didn’t speak to His mother words to ward off His mother’s enemies [in her presence] like the parrot.

This text indicates that it is easier to surrender unto a bona fide ācārya than to execute [pure] devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead for it has been stated:

na hy ammayāni tīrthāni na devā mṛc-chilāmayāḥ
te punanty uru-kālena darśanād eva sādhavaḥ

“The holy places are not merely made up of water. The devas are not merely made of clay and stones. They purify over a long period of time. But [genuine] saints purify as soon as they are seen [with faith].”¹

Here śārikā (“female parrot”) refers to a bona fide ācārya who has knowledge [of the Supreme Lord in devotional service] and engages in prescribed duties [in and favorable to devotional service] as his two wings.² Śārikā is in the feminine gender, indicating that he is dependent on the Lord in accordance with the statement—strī-prāyam itarat sarvam: “Everything other [than the Supreme Personality of Godhead] is like a woman.”³ In other words, the bona fide ācārya is an easier source of generating the bliss of liberation from material existence than the Supreme Personality of Godhead because it has been stated:

paśur manuṣyaḥ pakṣī vā ye ca vaiṣṇava-saṁśrayāḥ
tenaiva te prayāsyanti tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam

“Those who take full shelter of a pure Vaiṣṇava, whether an animal or human or bird, attain the supreme abode of Lord Viṣṇu because of that Vaiṣṇava.”

The second line of this verse states the nature of such an ācārya. Yasyāḥ indicates that confidential mantras are heard as received through the disciplic succession of bona fide spiritual masters. What kind of prayers? Śuka pādam arer daśa which can then mean, “O parrotlike Supreme Lord, that is, O Supreme Lord whose complexion is like that of a parrot, please remove the basis of my material existence.”

The basis of our material existence is the sense of I and mine here:

anātmany ātma-buddhir yāsve svam iti yā matiḥ
avidyā-taru-sambhūti-bījam etad dvidhā sthitam

“The germinating seed of the tree of ignorance is of two types: the conception that the non-self is the self and the conception that that which is not one’s own is one’s own.”

Lord Rāma indicates here that he from whom one learns prayers like the above-mentioned prayer is better than Him.

This meaning is also clear from the context. The city of Ayodhyā represents Vaikuṇṭha. Having left that Vaikuṇṭha and having crossed over the Virajā river [and the Gaṅgā represents Virajā], the Supreme Personality of Godhead enters the forest which represents material existence. He then situates Himself in a tree which represents a material body with a living entity as noted in the Vedānta:

dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte
tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty anaśnann anyo ’bhicākaśīti

“Two companion birds sit together in the shelter of the same pippala tree. One of them is relishing the taste of the tree’s berries, while the other refrains from eating and instead watches over His friend.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.6)

The Supreme Lord helps the living entity experience the results of his actions (karma-phala):

ṛtaṁ pibantau sukṛtasya loke guhāṁ praviṣṭau parame parārdhe
chāyātapau brahmavido vadanti pañcāgnayo ye ca tri-ṇāciketāḥ

“The expansions of Lord Viṣṇu as the tiny living entity and the Supersoul are both situated within the cave of the heart of this body. Having entered that cavity, the living entity, resting on the chief of the life airs, enjoys the results of activities, and the Supersoul, acting as witness enables him to enjoy them. Those who are well-versed in knowledge of Brahman and those householders who carefully follow the Vedic regulations say that the difference between the two is like the difference between a shadow and the sun.” (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.1)

The Lord then hankers for [the deliverance of] His associate suffering because of not [directly] experiencing Him, [but] not having fulfilled the purpose for which He came to associate with the conditioned souls in material existence, He concludes that the ultimate means to deliver them is the best means.⁴