कृतोदकौ तावपि पक्षिसत्तमे स्थिरां च बुद्धिं प्रणिधाय जग्मतुः।
प्रवेश्य सीताधिगमे ततो मनो वनं सुरेन्द्राविव विष्णुवासवौ॥
kṛtodakau tāv api pakṣi-sattame
sthirāṁ ca buddhiṁ praṇidhāya jagmatuḥ
praveśya sītādhigame tato mano
vanaṁ surendrāv iva viṣṇu-vāsavau
kṛta-udakau = and offered [him] water and so on; tau api = They; pakṣi-sattame = upon that best of birds; sthirām ca = Their steady; buddhim = intelligence; praṇidhāya = fixed; jagmatuḥ = and departed; praveśya = They set; sītā-adhigame = on finding Sītā-devī; tataḥ = then; manaḥ = Their minds; vanam = to the forest; sura-indrau = the lords of the devas; iva = like; viṣṇu-vāsavau = Viṣṇu and Indra.
They fixed Their steady intelligence upon that best of birds and offered [him] water and so on. They then set Their minds on finding Sītā-devī and departed to the forest like Viṣṇu and Indra, the two lords of the devas.
[1] megha-cchanne ’hni durdinam. (Amara)
[2] baḍiśaṁ matsya-vedhanam. (Amara)
[3] atha yad ataḥ paro divo jyotir dīpyate viśvataḥ pṛṣṭheṣu sarvataḥ pṛṣṭheṣv anuttameṣūttameṣu.
“They fixed Their steady intelligence upon that best of birds” means “They trusted Jaṭāyu’s words, ‘You will certainly find Sītā.’”
“Like Viṣṇu and Indra, the two lords of the devas” indicates that Rāma’s and Lakṣmaṇa’s search for Sītā-devī was just [to teach Rāvaṇa] a good lesson.