Śrī Rāma having departed for the forest in an exceptionally swift-going chariot, Daśaratha vainly seeks to cover the intervening distance on foot. The very dust raised by the chariot having disappeared after a while, the Emperor feels doubly disconsolate and drops to the ground. When Kaikeyī comes forward to support him, he scolds her and asks her not to touch his person. Kausalyā then lifts him up and persuades him to return. His personal attendants take him to the latterís apartments and, seeing him plunged in grief, Kausalyā seats herself beside him and begins to lament in various ways.