Guha made preparations to ferry Bharata and his men across the river in five hundred boats. The one meant for the royals was ornate and embellished with gold and provided with windows that let in only limited winds to pass through even during fierce storms.It was firmly put together with large nails of steel. Guha himself took charge of this resplendent boat on which sailed Bharata Satrughna, the priest, preceptors, Brahmins and the queens. The clamor of embarkation reached a crescendo while the enthusiastic multitudes, splashed and jostled as they boarded. Boats carrying chariots, carts and various animals followed.Elephants goaded by mahouts crossed the river, appearing like mountains in motion. The clamor of the expectant hordes in their eagerness to behold Rama resorted to many ways of crossing the river. Some went by boat and raft some rode elephants while some swam. Purified and blessed by the celestial waters of the Ganga, the army with its princes soon reached the other bank. Disembarking at the magnificent woods of Prayaga, Bharata asking his armies to rest went along with Vasishta and the others to pay homage to sage Bharadhvaja.