हृदयस्थश्च ते छन्दो विज्ञातस्तपसा मया।
इह वासं प्रतिज्ञाय मया सह तपोवने॥
अतश्च त्वामहं ब्रूमि गच्छ पञ्चवटीमिति॥
hṛdayasthaś ca te chando vijñātas tapasā mayā
iha vāsaṁ pratijñāya mayā saha tapo-vane
ataś ca tvām ahaṁ brūmi gaccha pañcavaṭīm iti
hṛdayasthaḥ ca = heart’s; te = Your; chandaḥ = desire 1; vijñātaḥ = have understood; tapasā = by my austerity; mayā = I; iha = in this; vāsam = [that You can] reside; pratijñāya = I promised; mayā = me; saha = with; tapaḥ-vane = forest of austerity; ataḥ ca = therefore; tvām = You [now]; aham = [and] I; brūmi = tell; gaccha = go; pañcavaṭīm iti = to Pañcavaṭī.
By my austerity, I have understood Your heart’s desire. Therefore, I promised [that You can] reside in this forest of austerity with me [and] I tell You [now]: “Go to Pañcavaṭī.”
1 Agastya understood that Rāma previously wanted to stay at Agastya’s āśrama. Rāma had told Lakṣmaṇa—ārādhayiṣyāmy atrāham agastyaṁ taṁ mahā-munim, śeṣaṁ ca vana-vāsasya saumya vatsyāmy ahaṁ prabho: “Gentle master, I will worship the great sage Agastya and I will spend the rest of [our] residence in the forest here.” (Rāmāyaṇa 3.11.90) Agastya had perceived this event in his meditation.
Lord Rāma wanted to kill Khara and other [demons]. Agastya understood this through his austerity, that is, through reflection as well as from hints in Rāma’s words that revealed [His intention].1
Agastya had proposed that Rāma reside in his residence in text 8:
alaṅkṛto ’yaṁ deśaś ca yatra saumitriṇā saha
vaidehyā cānayā rāma vatsyasi tvam arindama
“O Rāma, O subduer of enemies, [You can] decorate the place where You reside with Vaidehī and Lakṣmaṇa.”
And Rāma had responded in text 11:
kintu vyādiśa me deśaṁ sodakaṁ bahu-kānanam
yatrāśrama-padaṁ kṛtvā vaseyaṁ nirataḥ sukham
“But please tell Me about a place with water and a lot of forests where I can happily live without distraction after making it into an āśrama.”
NOTE. Agastya understood Lord Rāma’s intention because he was a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Only a devotee of the Supreme Lord can understand Him. Prabhupāda notes this in his purport to Bhagavad-gītā 7.24 thus:
The fact is that no one can understand Kṛṣṇa without rendering devotional service and without developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Bhāgavatam (10.14.29) confirms this:
athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan
“My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.” One cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or His form, quality or name simply by mental speculation or by discussing Vedic literature. One must understand Him by devotional service.