Adhyaya 37

Within the Śeṣa–Vātsyāyana frame, sages recount Rāma’s wondrous life and the purifying merit of hearing the Rāma-kathā. At Agastya’s command, Rāma undertakes a great rite to remove the taint of brahma-hatyā, and a devotional episode unfolds around Hanumān and the forest-sage Āraṇyaka, also called Vāḍavendra. Śatrughna and his attendants arrive at the hermitage; the sage rejoices, longing for Rāma’s darśana. Escorted to Ayodhyā, he beholds Rāma on the bank of the Sarayū amid gathered ṛṣis and gifts bestowed upon the needy. Rāma honors him with extraordinary humility—washing the sage’s feet and placing that water upon his own head. Āraṇyaka teaches that Rāma’s Name alone destroys sins, even brahma-hatyā. At the close, the devotee-sage (Vātsyāyana in the frame) attains sāyujya as his radiance enters Rāma, accompanied by celestial music and a shower of flowers.