वासोभिर्बहुसाहस्रैर्यो महात्मा पुरोचितः।
मृगाजिने सोऽयमिह प्रवस्ते धर्ममाचरन्॥
vāsobhir bahu-sāhasrair yo mahātmā purocitaḥ
mṛgājine so ’yam iha pravaste dharmam ācaran
vāsobhiḥ = decorating Himself with dresses; bahu-sāhasraiḥ = worth thousands [of gold coins]; yaḥ mahātmā = great soul; purā = who previously was; ucitaḥ = used to; mṛga-ajine = with two deer-skins; saḥ ayam = that; iha = is now; pravaste = covering Himself; dharmam = dharma; ācaran = practicing.
That great soul who previously was used to decorating Himself with dresses worth thousands [of gold coins] is now covering Himself with two deer skins, practicing dharma.
1 In Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 24, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu narrates the history of Mṛgāri to Sanātana Gosvāmī. A point to be noted in this regard is that even before Nārada Muni taught Mṛgāri the process of sādhana-bhakti, he insisted that Mṛgāri give up his sinful occupation even though it was his sole source of livelihood at that time. Scripturally forbidden activities are simply incompatible with the activities of bhakti. It is one or the other, and never both together.
NOTE. Practicing dharma in this context indicates that Rāma was demonstrating how to practice the core elements of Vedic dharma, for He was following the other elements of Vedic dharma even in Ayodhyā.
These elements are clearly presented in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.11.8-12 as:
satyaṁ dayā tapaḥ śaucaṁ titikṣekṣā śamo damaḥ
ahiṁsā brahmacaryaṁ ca tyāgaḥ svādhyāya ārjavam
santoṣaḥ samadṛk-sevā grāmyehoparamaḥ śanaiḥ
nṛṇāṁ viparyayehekṣā maunam ātma-vimarśanam
annādyādeḥ saṁvibhāgo bhūtebhyaś ca yathārhataḥ
teṣv ātma-devatā-buddhiḥ sutarāṁ nṛṣu pāṇḍava
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ cāsya smaraṇaṁ mahatāṁ gateḥ
sevejyāvanatir dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-samarpaṇam
nṛṇām ayaṁ paro dharmaḥ sarveṣāṁ samudāhṛtaḥ
triṁśal-lakṣaṇavān rājan sarvātmā yena tuṣyati
“These are the general principles to be followed by all human beings: truthfulness, mercy, austerity (observing fasts on certain days of the month), bathing twice a day, tolerance, discrimination between right and wrong, control of the mind, control of the senses, nonviolence, celibacy, charity, reading of scripture, simplicity, satisfaction, rendering service to saintly persons, gradually taking leave of unnecessary engagements, observing the futility of the unnecessary activities of human society, remaining silent and grave and avoiding unnecessary talk, considering whether one is the body or the soul, distributing food equally to all living entities (both men and animals), seeing every soul (especially in the human form) as a part of the Supreme Lord, hearing about the activities and instructions given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead (who is the shelter of the saintly persons), chanting about these activities and instructions, always remembering these activities and instructions, trying to render service, performing worship, offering obeisances, becoming a servant, becoming a friend, and surrendering one’s whole self. O King Yudhiṣṭhira, these thirty qualifications must be acquired in the human form of life. Simply by acquiring these qualifications, one can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
This was a demonstration to those interested in achieving liberation from material existence, especially if they want to achieve it in one lifetime. Of course, anyone attempting this in a similar renounced environment should first of all avoid touching adharma, that is, sinful activities (pāpa) and offenses (aparādha).1 There is no point in simultaneously engaging in the most upgrading activity and the most downgrading activity just as one who wants to ignite fire should not attempt to pour water on the fuel.