Lakshaman approached Rama, and told him in a faltering voice, ‘I could not imagine, even in my dreams, that such a terrible calamity would happen. We could not see our father in his last moments.’ Rama consoled him, saying that there was no profit in grieving over what has already come to pass. ‘Physical bodies are as transient as bubbles in water. They are bound to burst and disappear, if not today, at least the day after’, he said. He gave expression to many moral maxim, until both brothers went to the river to finish bath ritually laid down when one hears on the death of those who are near of kin.

When the sun rose,Vashistha directed Rama to perform the obsequies of the departed father, They were carried out in strict conformity with Shastric injunctions. Since Shri Rama Himself uttered the Mantra sanctifying the waters, ‘May the holy waters of Ganga, Yamuna Godavari,Saraswati,Narmada, Sindhu and Cauvery come into this vessel and sanctify the water therein,’ the ritual was rendered sacred and eminently fruitful. (RKRV Part I, pp. 445-446)