Shloka 3.11.79
पञ्चाप्सरो-सरः कथनम् तथा अगस्त्याश्रममार्गनिर्देशः (Panchapsara Lake Account and Directions to Agastya)
स्निग्धपत्रा यथा वृक्षा यथा क्षान्ता मृगद्विजाः।आश्रमो नातिदूरस्थो महर्षेर्भावितात्मनः।।।।
snigdhapatrā yathā vṛkṣā yathā kṣāntā mṛgadvijāḥ | āśramo nātidūrastho maharṣer bhāvitātmanaḥ ||
The trees bear glossy leaves, and the beasts and birds are calm; therefore the hermitage of that great seer, disciplined in spirit, cannot be far from here.
The leaves of the trees here are glossy, the animals and birds are peaceful. It appears the hermitage of the self-realized great sage Agastya is not very far from here.
Dharma is shown as the civilizing influence of a righteous life: the presence of a realized sage makes the environment peaceful—suggesting that inner discipline (satya and self-control) radiates outward as harmony.
Rama infers they are nearing a great sage’s hermitage by observing the unusual serenity of the forest—glossy foliage and unafraid animals and birds.
Rama’s discernment and reverence for holiness—he reads moral-spiritual ‘signs’ in nature and values the protection a sage’s tapas provides.