When Rāma reached the Gaṅgā, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa and the charioteer Sumantra were still with him.
They stopped beneath a great iṅgudī tree near the river.
This was the land of Guha, king of the Niṣādas — and already one of Rāma's closest friends.
When Guha heard that Rāma had arrived, he came with his ministers and relatives.
He embraced Rāma.
This place is as much yours as Ayodhyā, he told him.
Then Guha offered everything he could.
Food. Drinks. Beds.
Even his kingdom.
Rāma thanked his friend but refused.
He had taken the discipline of forest life. He would not live like a prince here.
There was only one thing he asked Guha for: Feed my father's horses.
So Guha did.
That evening Rāma drank only water and lay down on the ground beside Sītā.
Lakṣmaṇa stayed awake.
Guha offered him a bed.
No one is dearer to me than Rāma, Guha said. My people and I will guard him.
Lakṣmaṇa answered, How can I sleep while Rāma and Sītā sleep on the earth?
So neither man slept.
They kept watch together.
At dawn Rāma said it was time to cross the Gaṅgā.
Guha had a strong boat brought.
Rāma also asked him for the sap of a banyan tree. Guha fetched it, and Rāma used it to bind his own hair and Lakṣmaṇa's into the matted locks of forest ascetics.
Then it was time to leave.
Sītā entered the boat first, then Lakṣmaṇa, then Rāma.
Guha ordered his kinsmen to row them across.
In the middle of the river, Sītā folded her hands and prayed that after fourteen years they would all return safely.
Guha could not stop his friend's exile. He could make sure his friend did not face that night, or that river, alone.