गार्ग्यागमनं भरतस्य गन्धर्वदेशप्रयाणं च

After some time Yudhājit, king of the Kekayas, sent his own preceptor to the great-souled Rāghava: Gārgya, son of Aṅgiras, a brahmin seer of boundless splendour, bringing ten thousand horses as a matchless gift of affection, together with blankets, jewels, fine many-coloured cloth and beautiful ornaments, all the king's gifts to Rāma. When wise Rāghava heard that the great seer Gārgya had come, and that great wealth had been sent by his maternal uncle of the Aśvapati line, he went out a krośa with his brothers to meet him and honoured Gārgya as Śakra honours Bṛhaspati. When he had honoured the seer, accepted the gifts, and asked point by point after his uncle's welfare, Rāma began to question the eminent guest, now seated: "What message has my uncle sent, for which your holiness has come here, best of those who know speech, like Bṛhaspati himself?" Yudhājit is Bharata's maternal uncle, Kaikeyī's brother, and Aśvapati, Kaikeyī's father, gives the family its name. Rāma calls him "my uncle" because Bharata's uncle deserves a nephew's reverence from Rāma too. To go out a krośa to meet a guest is the highest honour: the king himself leaves the city to welcome the brahmin. The simile means that as Indra honours the preceptor of the gods, so Rāma honours the Kekaya king's preceptor. The gift of horses recalls the fame of the Kekaya country, the home of the finest horses, and the horses, blankets and jewels show its wealth. In this sarga, after Sītā, the story turns in a new direction: the widening of the kingdom and the settling of the brothers' sons. Rāma asks first after the family's welfare and only then about the business, the order of courtesy followed by the kings of old. Gārgya is no mere envoy but the Kekaya king's priest, so his word carries the king's authority, and Rāma receives him with respect.

Hearing Rāma, the great seer began to tell Rāghava the whole matter, wonderful to hear: "Mighty one, your uncle Yudhājit, bull among men, sends you a message in affection; hear it if you will. There is a land of the gandharvas, rich in fruits and roots, lying on both banks of the Sindhu, a most beautiful country. It is guarded by gandharvas, armed and skilled in war, the sons of Śailūṣa, hero, thirty million mighty warriors. Conquer them, Kākutstha, and establish that fine gandharva city as a well-ordered city of your own, mighty one. No one else can reach it; it is a most beautiful land. Let it please you, mighty one; I would not counsel you to your harm." Yudhājit's proposal is a political one: a rich country on the Sindhu held by gandharvas, which he urges Rāma to join to the kingdom of Ayodhyā. "No one else can reach it" suggests how hard those gandharvas are to conquer; only Rāma has the strength to defeat them. Śailūṣa is the gandharva king, and the word also means an actor, recalling the gandharvas' love of music and drama. The proposal closes on a personal note, "I would not counsel you to your harm", and "in affection" is Gārgya's assurance that it comes from love and not self-interest. The land on both sides of the Sindhu lies to the north-west, where the country of Gāndhāra later became famous, and it is implied that Yudhājit could not conquer it himself and so looks for Rāma's help.

Hearing this, Rāghava, pleased with the great seer and with his uncle's message, said simply, "Very well," and looked towards Bharata. Then, pleased, he joined his palms and said to the brahmin: "Brahmin seer, these two princes will march through that country, Bharata's heroic sons Takṣa and Puṣkala, well protected by their uncle and steadfast in dharma. With Bharata at their head, the two princes with their army and followers will slay the sons of the gandharva and divide the land into two cities. When he has founded those fine cities and installed his sons in them, the most righteous Bharata will come back to me." Having said this to the brahmin seer, he gave his orders to Bharata, with his army and followers, and had the two princes consecrated. Under an auspicious constellation, with Gārgya son of Aṅgiras at their head, Bharata set out with the army and the two princes. Rāma does not go himself but makes Bharata commander, for it is a king's dharma not to leave his capital. Takṣa and Puṣkala are Bharata's sons, and the cities of Takṣaśilā and Puṣkalāvata will later become famous by their names. "Protected by their uncle": Yudhājit is of their grandmother's house and so their guardian. Rāma speaks to the brahmin with joined palms, showing his humility. The princes are consecrated before the battle, a sign of confidence in victory, and the auspicious constellation marks the choice of a lucky hour. So Rāma gives kingdoms to his brothers' sons, as he will later to Lakṣmaṇa's sons too, his policy being that the growth of the kingdom should serve the good of the whole family. Bharata will not become king there but will return to Rāma's service, and everything moves at Rāma's command.

That army left the city like the army of the gods led by Śakra, unassailable even by the gods, and Rāghava followed it a long way. Flesh-eating creatures and huge rākṣasas followed Bharata, thirsting for blood, and many dreadful hosts of flesh-eating spirits by the thousand, eager to feed on the flesh of the gandharvas' sons, while many thousands of lions, tigers and boars, and birds of the sky, went ahead of the army. After a month and a half on the road, the army, free from sickness, reached the Kekaya country, full of happy and prosperous people. The battle is foreshadowed by fearsome pictures: flesh-eating creatures and spirits follow the army before the fighting, hoping for food. This is the traditional way of describing war, by which the coming slaughter is hinted. Rāma himself follows the army a long way, out of love and to give his blessing. The journey took a month and a half, and the army suffered neither sickness nor hardship. The simile likens Bharata to Indra. The presence of flesh-eaters and spirits hints at the horror of the battle to come, for thirty million gandharvas must be slain. The Kekaya country is Bharata's mother's family home, so it is natural for the army to rest there, safe on every side under his leadership. The battle and the founding of the cities come in the next sarga.