"Rama transformed the world into a realm of righteousness, through his varied activities and examples. During the great horse sacrifice that he performed, all the sages and scholars of ritual who had assembled, honoured him as a great upholder of tradition and culture. His compassion and softness of heart are beyond description; no words can convey their depth and extent. He placed the dying eagle - Jatayu - a bird, which no one will ordinarily honour - on his lap; he wiped with his own flowing hair, the dust that had enveloped it; when it breathed its last, he performed the obsequies, even as a son does when his father dies!"

"His very appearance cast a charm on all who saw him. Love, beauty and virtue radiated from him and spread to all around him. He treated the Vanaras (monkey-tribals) with as much affection as he had towards his brothers, Bharatha, Lakshmana and Satrughna."

"Rama was the full manifestation of righteousness or Dharma. The sages extolled him, saying that Dharma itself had taken that human form! There is no need to dilate and speak of a thousand details. For all householders, Rama is the ideal. His advent was for restoring spiritual values and saving the world from moral disaster. How affectionately he moved with his brothers! Everything was ready for his coronation; but, at the last minute, when he was exiled and had to go to the forests, the populace of Ayodhya wailed in uncontrollable anguish; yet Rama moved out of the city and kingdom, with as much joy and equanimity as he had, when he moved towards the throne for the coronation! What greater example is needed than this, for the Sthithaprajna (the person whose consciousness is calm and beyond all agitations)?"

"He felt that the plighted word was worth the sacrifice of even life. He suffered, with perfect equanimity, grievous hardships, in order to preserve the plighted word of his father. His sincere persistence in carrying out the promise made by his father is an inspiration and an example to every son of man."

"Sita too, insisted on accompanying her husband to the forest, since a true wife can keep alive only in the company of the husband. She had never before exposed herself to sun and rain; but she spent her days in the terror-striking forest, as in duty bound, and in unsullied joy."

"'He who is born with you, is more worthy of affection, than she who joined you later,' that was the view of Lakshmana, when he joined his brother, Rama, leaving his wife, Urmila, in Ayodhya itself."

"Bharatha could not but obey Rama's wish; he came back to the capital with a heavy heart, since Rama declined to come and enthrone himself. Bharatha created an artificial 'forest' for himself (that is to say, he led an ascetic's life, out of inner compulsion, since he felt he must live like his exiled brother)."