tatheti ca sa rājānamuktvā vedavidāṃ varaḥ| svayaṃ vasiṣṭho bhagavānyayau rāmaniveśanam upavāsayituṃ rāmaṃ mantravanmantrakovidaḥ| brāhmaṃ rathavaraṃ yuktamāsthāya sudṛḍhavrataḥ
Venerabel Vasistha, the best amongst the knowers of the Vedas, skilled in mantras and firm in his vows said to the king, 'Be it so.' Thereafter, mounted on the best of the chariots befitting a brahmin, with horses harnesed he proceeded personally to the abode of Rama to ask him to undertake a fast in accompaniment with mantras preceding the installation ceremony.
— M.N. Dutt (1891)
Vasistha, 'whose wealth is asceticism,' agrees. The epithet is beautiful — his wealth is not gold but the austerity he has accumulated. He is the richest man in Ayodhya by the only measure that matters for a ceremony connecting earth to heaven.