Dasaratha feeling like an elephant trapped saw Sumantra who was tearful and dust covered. In a voice gentle and fragile he asked, "Charioteer! Tell me how Rama, that son of mine and lord of the earth sleeps on the hard floor of the forest? Which tree gives him shelter and what food does he eat? How does he live like an orphan in a wilderness infested with snakes and flesh eating beasts? How do Sita's dainty feet tread difficult wooded pathways?" Dasartha's curiosity of how Rama, Lakshmana and Sita fared and how they inhabited the formidable forest was insatiable. Prodded by his love that defied description for a son, who was his world and his life, Dasaratha kept asking, "Tell me! Tell me Sumantra so that I may live a while longer."

In a tremulous voice choking with emotion Sumantra relayed the messages he had been committed to deliver by Rama. "Sumantra, tell the king, my father, that I place my head at his august feet in profound obeisance. I pay homage to all those women in the inner apartments of the palace. I request mother Kausalya to tend the sacrificial fires and serve the king as unto a god. May you mother, not let your pride and ego come in the way of your treatment towards the other queens. May you bestow equal grace on Dasaratha and Kaikeyi! Give Bharata his due as sovereign because obedience to kings is imperative, though not the eldest of the king's sons, it is a royal prerogative." Of Bharata, Rama had "Bharata, who is to be coronated king, should obey the commands of the monarch, his father. Never opposing his wishes, but ruling as permitted by him. May Bharata enjoy his sovereignty, but not depose Dasaratha, and may the will of that monarch done".

Lakshmana's message was not so gentle. Beholding Rama's distress he had burst out in a fiery tirade lashing out at Dasaratha without mercy. "Dasaratha, the great monarch does not appear to me as a father. To me Rama is brother, father and master. How can Rama beloved prince of Ayodhya ever in the service of his people be banished? It is unpardonable and unrighteous. Can anyone except Bharata respect you, who have driven away Rama? How can you even be a king?"

Of Sita, Sumantra spoke sorrowlfully, "Born a princess having never faced hardships Sita had no comments, even in the face of the terrible misfortune that had befallen her. Though grieving at the fate of her consort, not a word of blame did she let loose against Kaikeyi. So noble was her silence. Looking at Rama sorrowfully she noticed my departure and the tears she had been fighting to hold back, spilled from her beautiful eyes as did from Rama's who stood by her side. My last vision of Sita was a piteous picture of woe as she stood gazing after me in wistful silence."