Rāma leaves Chitrakuta with Sītā and Lakshmana to go deeper into the forest

Rāma’s departure from Chitrakuta turns a settled forest dwelling into a new stage of exile. After Bharata takes the road home, Rāma remains in the woods; but when the hermits withdraw and the retreat is left behind, he too sets out, accompanied by Sītā and Lakshmaṇ. The move carries him from the company and shelter of one community of ascetics to Atri’s retreat, while keeping the three exiles together.

Background and Departure

The departure follows Bharata’s return from Chitrakuta. The canto titled “The Hermit’s Speech” places Rāma’s continued forest residence after Bharata has gone: the political and familial meeting has ended, but Rāma’s exile has not. He remains in the wood rather than returning with his brother.

The change comes when the hermits leave. The account says that the saints withdraw from the forest, and Rāma takes leave of them with a gesture of lowly reverence. The scene is not presented as a quarrel or forced expulsion. Instead, their absence changes the character of the place: the retreat that had offered a community around the exiles is now a lonely spot, and Rāma is no longer pleased to remain there.

Leaving the Retreat

The narrative gives the departure a practical circumstance as well as an emotional one. Rāma refers to elephants with ponderous feet trampling through the calm retreat. Against that disturbance, the withdrawal of the hermits, and his dissatisfaction with the deserted place, he goes forth to seek a home elsewhere. The destination is not described as a return to settled life; it is another dwelling within the forest.

Sītā and Lakshmaṇ go with him. The compact statement that he seeks a home with his spouse and brother makes the journey a shared household transition, not a solitary change of location. Their continued companionship is the stable element in a landscape where the human community around them has changed. The party reaches Atri’s pure retreat, making the sage’s hermitage the next named place in their forest journey.

At Atri’s Retreat

The visit gives the move a further human connection. In the canto titled “Anasúyá,” Anasuya hears the account Sītā tells. The passage therefore shifts attention from the mechanics of finding a new dwelling to an exchange between the women at the hermitage. The evidence establishes that Sītā tells her tale and that Anasuya listens; it does not, in these lines, specify the tale’s full contents or the details of any gifts or counsel.

The party remains at the retreat for the night. The poem describes Rāma as content beside his beloved as the sacred night passes. At dawn, the princes take leave of the hermits, who gaze after them as they depart. The movement thus has two stages: first, leaving the earlier retreat after its hermits have withdrawn; then, after a night at Atri’s, saying farewell to another community before continuing onward. The repeated leave-taking underscores that the hermitage is a place of welcome and rest, but not a permanent home for the exiles.

Narrative Significance

This episode marks a change in setting through ordinary actions: the hermits depart, Rāma bids them farewell, and the family seeks another place to stay. Its importance lies less in a confrontation than in the altered conditions of forest life. Chitrakuta’s retreat no longer suits Rāma once its community has gone and elephants disturb its quiet; the journey to Atri’s restores a setting where the exiles can be received, though only temporarily.

The canto sequence gives the transition a measured rhythm. “The Hermit’s Speech” situates Rāma after Bharata’s homeward journey; “Anasúyá” brings Sītā’s account and the night at Atri’s retreat into focus; “The Forest” opens onto the continuing journey. Rāma’s repeated departures do not undo the exile or bring him nearer to Ayodhya. They move the family deeper into forest residence, while the gestures of reverence, hospitality, and farewell preserve relationships with the ascetics they meet along the way.