The exiles came to the ashram of the rishi Sutikshna, and he invited them to stay there.

Meanwhile, they heard a loud roaring in the woods. "What's that?" asked Sita, frightened.

"Many wild animals live here," Sutikshna explained. "They make a ruckus, as you can hear, but they do no harm."

"I will kill those wild animals!" Rama declared.

"Oh no, great prince!" said Sutikshna. "There's no need to kill them. We seek peace here, even in the forest."

Rama pondered the rishi's words, and after a time they moved on, visiting the ashrams of other rishis in the forest.

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana came to the ashram of rishi Sharabhanga deep in the forest.

"Hear my story," the old man said to them. "The god Indra invited me to ascend to Nandana-Vana, the heavenly pleasure-garden, but instead I stayed here. I wanted to gaze upon Rama with my own eyes." Sharabhanga then looked at Rama and smiled. "I have grown old here, waiting. Now I can depart."

Sharabhanga told the exiles where they should go next on their journey, and then he entered the fire.

From the flames, a young Sharabhanga emerged, and he rose to heaven at last.

A fierce rakshasa grabbed Sita and carried her away. Rama and Lakshmana shot him, and he dropped Sita but grabbed them instead and ran deeper into the forest.

"I am Viradha!" the rakshasa shouted, "Weapons cannot kill me."

Rama and Lakshmana slashed off Viradha's arms with their swords.

Viradha collapsed, but he did not die.

"Bury me in a pit!" groaned Viradha. "There I can die."

So they buried Viradha in a pit.

A celestial being then arose from the earth.

"I am Tumburu," he said, "a gandharva cursed to live as a rakshasa. You freed me from that existence!"

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana heard music in the forest. Following the music, they came to a lake.

"I don't understand," said Rama. "Where are the musicians?"

A wandering rishi explained. "The rishi Mandakarni once lived here, and he practiced austerities for a thousand years. The devas feared him, so they sent five apsaras to seduce and distract him. The plan worked: Mandakarni was besotted. He built a house for the apsaras, and then he hid the house beneath this lake. You can hear them even now, as they sing and dance and make merry in the depths of Five-Apsaras Lake."

Worried about Rama's eagerness to fight rakshasas in the forest, Sita told Rama a story.

"A hermit once lived peacefully in the forest," she said, "forever performing rituals and reciting prayers. Indra feared the hermit's spiritual powers, so he visited the hermit disguised as a soldier. 'Take this,' he said to the hermit, giving him a sword. 'You will find it useful.' The hermit had always lived at peace, but he began carrying the sword with him everywhere. He no longer performed rituals; instead, he practiced using the sword. Eventually, the hermit lost his powers, just as Indra had hoped."

Rama came to Agastya's ashram.

"Two rakshasa brothers once lived here," said Agastya, "Ilvala and Vatapi. Ilvala would transform into a brahmin and invite another brahmin to dinner. Vatapi would transform into a sheep which Ilvala cooked and served. Then, after the guest ate, Ilvala would shout: Come out, Vatapi! Vatapi would burst through the brahmin's stomach, killing him."

Rama stared at Agastya, horrified.

"But I defeated them," Agastya explained, smiling. "I used my powers to digest Vatapi before Ilvala could summon him. Afterwards, I incinerated Ilvala with the power of my gaze."

Rama then regarded Agastya with great admiration.

The rishi Agastya bestowed weapons on Rama.

"This diamond-studded bow of gold was made by Vishvakarma," Agastya said. Next, he gave Rama two quivers, saying, "These quivers are inexhaustible, forever filled with arrows that blaze like the sun." Then he gave Rama a sword that once belonged to Indra and also a bow that once belonged to Vishnu. "With this bow, Vishnu slew many enemies," Agastya proclaimed. "May you do the same."

Rama received the weapons gratefully.

Agastya then directed Rama to go to Panchavati, a pleasant place in the forest where he could live peacefully with Sita and Lakshmana.

Lakshmana had tracked a wild boar through the dense woods. He then raised his sword to strike the boar, but missed. Instead, he cut off the head of an ascetic. The ascetic had been meditating, motionless and silent; Lakshmana hadn't even noticed he was there.

Lakshmana wept for what he had done, but then the god Indra appeared.

"That hermit was Ravana's nephew," said Indra. "He was meditating in order to acquire powers he could use to destroy me. I sent the boar to lure you here. You have accomplished a great deed, and I thank you!"

Then, Indra vanished.

In the forest, Sita met Anasuya, wife of the rishi Atri.

"Listen to my story," Anasuya said. "Three handsome men once came here, saying 'We have fasted twelve years. Feed us from your breast.' I realized they were the gods Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. I used my yogic powers to turn them into babies and let them suckle. Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Parvati then came and asked me to release them. I made them gods again, and they departed."

Then Anasuya gave Sita gifts: a garment that stayed ever-clean, a garland that stayed ever-fresh, and cream to make her skin ever-soft.

One day Sita and Rama wandered far from camp, and Sita was tired.

"I'll carry you," said Rama, lifting Sita into his arms, and they headed back to the camp.

The day was hot, and drops of Sita's sweat fell to the ground, as did drops of Rama's sweat.

Later Sita and Rama saw saplings had grown where their sweat had fallen.

The saplings continued to grow and bore fruit. Sita's trees bore green fruits, and Rama's red fruits.

"We'll call these Sita-fruit!" said Rama.

"And these will be Rama-fruit!" replied Sita, laughing.

These fruits still grow in India today.