According to the Valmiki Ramayana, during their years in the forest, Ram, Sita, and Lakshman moved through the dense Dandakaranya forest. They walked from hermitage to hermitage, receiving the guidance of sages along the way. One day, after leaving the ashram of Maharshi Agastya, they came to the banks of the Godavari river.
Maharshi Agastya had told Ram of a place nearby — Panchavati, meaning the grove of five banyan trees. 'The earth there is peaceful,' he said, 'the water is clear, and sages often pass through. You may build your dwelling there.'
Ram, Sita, and Lakshman arrived at Panchavati. The Godavari flowed clear and bright. Great banyan trees stood along the bank, their shade spreading wide. Birds called to one another in the branches. A gentle breeze moved through the air.
Lakshman worked hard and built a small hut. Using clay and bamboo, he shaped two rooms. He laid grass on the roof. Ram saw it and was pleased. Sita decorated that little hut with her own hands.
The days there had a quiet rhythm. In the morning, the sound of the Godavari's flowing water would fill the air. Ram would bathe at dawn and offer prayers. Sita tended the small garden near the hut. Lakshman stood watch.
Wandering sages sometimes stopped at their hut. Ram would greet them with a bow and listen to whatever they shared. 'There are many sacred spots in this forest,' the sages would say. 'Ancestors have done penance on these very banks of the Godavari.'
Sita found no hardship in the forest life. She would say — 'Wherever you are, that is my home. Even in the forest there is joy, if the heart is at peace.' Lakshman was always ready, devoted to his elder brother.
In the evenings, the four of them — Ram, Sita, Lakshman, and the shade of those five great banyans — would sit together as the sun set over the Godavari and turned the water gold. Even in that lonely forest, it felt like home.