Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 93: Bharata Initiates a Search for Rāma’s Residence
Text 2.93.13
कुर्वन्ति कुसुमापीडाञ्शिरःसु सुरभीनमी।
मेघप्रकाशैः फलकैर्दाक्षिणात्या यथा नराः॥
kurvanti kusumāpīḍāñ śiraḥsu surabhīn amī
megha-prakāśaiḥ phalakair dākṣiṇātyā yathā narāḥ
kurvanti kusuma-āpīḍān śiraḥsu = wear wreaths of flowers 2; surabhīn = fragrant; amī = these soldiers; megha-prakāśaiḥ = that shine like clouds; phalakaiḥ = with hair-bands; dākṣiṇātyāḥ = from the south; yathā = like; narāḥ = men.
Like men from the south, these soldiers wear fragrant flower wreaths with hair-bands that shine like clouds.
1 This appears to have been a custom among men in South India when Lord Rāma manifested His pastimes.
The soldiers wore hair-bands while going inside the forest. This is a partial illustration [of their decorations]. Men from the south untie their hair, tie them up with flower wreaths and decorate [them].1