आश्रमं त्वृषिविरहितं प्रभुः क्षणमपि न विजहौ स राघवः।
राघवं हि सततमनुगतास्तापसाश्चार्षचरितधृतगुणाः॥
āśramaṁ tv ṛṣi-virahitaṁ prabhuḥ
kṣaṇam api na vijahau sa rāghavaḥ
rāghavaṁ hi satatam anugatās
tāpasāś cārṣa-carita-dhṛta-guṇāḥ
āśramam tu = the āśrama; ṛṣi-virahitam = that was [now] devoid of the sages; prabhuḥ = Lord; kṣaṇam api = even for a moment; na = never; vijahau = gave up; saḥ rāghavaḥ = Rāghava; rāghavam hi = Him; satatam = always; anugatāḥ = had followed; tāpasāḥ ca = because the ascetics; ārṣa-carita-dhṛta-guṇāḥ = who had accumulated good qualities due to Rāma’s sagelike activities.
Lord Rāghava never gave up the āśrama that was [now] devoid of the sages even for a moment because those ascetics who had accumulated good qualities due to Rāma’s sagelike activities had always followed Him.
[1] mitho ’nyonya-rahasyayoḥ (Vaijayantī).
[2] sattvo ’strī jantuṣu klībo ’dhyavasāye parākrame / ātma-bhāve ’piśācādau dravye sattā-svabhāvayoḥ (Vaijayantī).
1 Rāma behaved like a sage and this attracted the sages to Him and they developed various spiritual qualities to such an extent that they had always followed Him. They left the āśrama out of fear that Khara and his associates might harm Rāma. Therefore Rāma loved them so much.
Though the āśrama should have been given up when it had become devoid of the sages, Rāma did not give it up out of His love for them for they had always followed Him. They had done so because they had accumulated good qualities due to His sagelike activities.1