01King of Shringaverapura
On the evening Rama reached the Ganga, at Shringaverapura, Guha the Nishada king came out with his ministers to meet him. Valmiki calls him Rama’s friend, dear as his own self. He brought food of every kind and offered Rama his whole kingdom to rule. Rama embraced him and refused gently: he was under a vow to live as an ascetic, and would accept only fodder for the horses, his father’s favourites. That night Rama and Sita slept on the ground beneath an ingudi tree, and Guha sat up by the fire with Lakshmana, bow in hand, keeping watch with his own men around them.
02The crossing
In the morning Rama sent Sumantra back to Ayodhya with the chariot. He asked Guha for the milky sap of the banyan, and he and Lakshmana matted their hair with it, taking the ascetic’s form. Guha’s men brought a well-made boat. Midstream Sita folded her hands and prayed to Ganga for their safe return, vowing offerings when they came back. On the far bank Guha turned home.
The boatman who will not let Rama aboard until he has washed his feet is the Kevat of the Ramcharitmanas. In Valmiki, Guha’s men simply bring the boat.
03Facing Bharata’s army
When Bharata came down the Ganga with an army, Guha thought he had come to kill Rama in the forest. He ordered his Nishadas to guard the river with their boats, then went to Bharata with gifts to read his face. Once he understood, he wept, and the next morning his boats ferried the whole army across. He took Bharata to the ingudi tree and showed him the bed of grass where Rama and Sita had slept. Fourteen years later, Rama sent Hanuman to Shringaverapura first with news of his return.
Shringverpur stands on the Ganga near Prayagraj; the archaeologist B. B. Lal excavated there.