Renuka

Rama, the destroyer of enemy warriors, enters the hermitage last. The great ascetic Jamadagni tells him in great anger: kill your evil mother, without any compassion. Rama grasps his axe and slices off his mother's head. Then Jamadagni's anger is suddenly appeased, and he offers Rama any wishes — which Rama uses to undo everything that was done.

Renuka, rigid in her vows, goes to bathe while her sons gather fruit. She sees King Chitraratha sporting in the water with his wives, garlanded with lotuses — and is filled with desire. She loses her chastity and her senses. When Jamadagni discovers this, he commands each of his four eldest sons to kill their mother. They refuse. In great anger, he curses them to lose their minds and behave like animals or inanimate objects.