Rama embraced Sita, and said: “I have never doubted her virtue; she is without sin, and now her purity has been proved before all men.”
He wept, and Sita hid her face in his bosom and soft embrace.
The exile of Rama was now ended, and he returned speedily in the car of Indra to Ayodhya, with Sita and Lakshmana and Hanuman.
Bharata welcomed his elder brother, and laid the sandals at his feet, saying: “These are the symbols of thy rule, O Rama; I have guarded the throne for thee. Now take thy crown and govern thy kingdom. I give thee back thine own.”
Rama was crowned on the morrow amidst the rejoicings of the people, and prosperity returned once again to the kingdom.
Time went past, but the sorrows of Sita were not ended. The people whispered against the fair queen, doubting her virtue, because that she had been taken away by Ravana, and they wondered Rama had received her back. At length her husband, yielding to the wishes of his subjects, banished the innocent queen from the kingdom. The faithful Lakshmana conducted her towards the southern jungles, and abandoned her nigh to the hermitage of Valmiki, counselling her with tears to take refuge with the saintly poet.
Valmiki received her with pity, and soon afterwards she gave birth to two sons, who were named Lava and Kusa.
Sixteen years went past, and Rama's mind was troubled because that he had slain Ravana, who was the son of Pulastya, the Rishi. So he resolved to perform the Aswamedha (horse sacrifice) to cleanse his soul of sin.
The horse was sent forth to wander through the land, and when it approached the hermitage of Valmiki, Lava and Kusa, the sons of Rama and Sita, took possession of it. They defeated the royal army and wounded Satrughna. Lakshmana hastened forth with another army, but he was also grievously wounded and defeated by the young heroes. Then Rama himself went southward to wage war and recapture the horse. When his sons came forth against him, Rama wondered to find that they were so like to himself in countenance and bearing; his heart was filled with tenderness, and he asked them: “Whose children are you?”
Lava and Kusa greeted him with reverence, and said: “Sita is our mother, but we know not the name of our sire.”