Shloka 2.45.32
अयोध्यावासिजनानुरागः — The People and Brahmins Follow Rama toward Exile
एवं विक्रोशतां तेषां द्विजातीनां निवर्तने।ददृशे तमसा तत्र वारयन्तीव राघवम्।।।।
evaṁ vikrośatāṁ teṣāṁ dvijātīnāṁ nivartane | dadṛśe tamasā tatra vārayantīva rāghavam ||
As those Brahmins cried out for his return, the river Tamasa appeared there, as though it too were trying to hold back Rāghava (Rama).
While those brahmins were thus crying out, river Tamasa came into view as if seeking Rama to turn back to Ayodhya.
Dharma is portrayed as cosmic and communal: the world itself seems to resist the departure of the righteous, suggesting that moral order is intertwined with the natural and social order.
The story visually shifts as the group reaches the Tamasa river, described as if it stands as a boundary urging Rama to turn back.
Rama’s role as a moral axis (righteous exemplar): his movement changes the emotional and symbolic landscape around him.