Shloka 3.1.21
तापसाश्रममण्डलदर्शनम् (Entering Dandaka and Meeting the Sages)
न्यस्तदण्डा वयं राजञ्जितक्रोधा जितेन्द्रियाः।रक्षणीयास्त्वया शश्वदगर्भभूतास्तपोधनाः।।।।
pūjitaṃ ca pranṛttaṃ ca nityam apsarasāṃ gaṇaiḥ |
viśālair agniśaraṇaiḥ srugbhāṇḍair ajinaiḥ kuśaiḥ ||
It was ever honored and, as it were, graced with dance by companies of apsarases; it was furnished with spacious fire-altars, ladles and ritual vessels, deer-skins, and kuśa-grass.
O king, we have conquered our anger and have controlled our senses. We ascetics have cast aside all our authority. We are like your children and need to be protected by you forever
Dharma is upheld through yajña and disciplined worship: the presence of ritual implements and fire-altars signifies ordered sacred duty rather than mere wilderness living.
The narrator details the hermitages’ ritual prosperity and sanctity, emphasizing that forest āśramas are centers of Vedic practice.
The sages’ steadfast observance (niyama) and devotion to sacrificial duty (yajña-karma) are foregrounded.