Meanwhile Vasishta was accompanying the queens to Rama's hermitage. Kausalya sighting the Mandakini said, "Look at this river Sumitra! This is from where your dutiful son fetches water for Rama. May all those duties soon come to an end!" Noticing the ingudi cakes offered as 'Pinda' her sorrow doubled and she said, "A king, an emperor without equal and lord of the earth, whose glory rivals that of Indra, is offered lowly Ingudi cake. I cannot deem anything more tragic than this and I grieve for Rama who could afford no more than this". Tearfully reaching Rama's humble house they beheld the light of the Ikshvakus shining with the brilliance of an immortal cast out of the heavens. The sight shattered the queens.

Rama paid them his obeisance as did Sita and Lakshmana. Kausalya embraced Sita as a mother would her daughter saying, "Sita my dear, your countenance bears witness to your distress and reminds me of faded lotuses and crushed lilies. Like the sheen of gold is lost in the dust that covers it, your face is lost in the shadows of your exile". As Kausalya anguished over Sita, Rama approached Vasishta and clasped his feet, paying him reverential homage. Rama resolute in truth, Bharatha in virtue and Lakshmana in strength blazed with the brilliance of sacrificial fires surrounded by the priests.