Valmiki Ramayana 2.39.24: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 39, Shloka 24
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः · Dasaratha’s Lament, Sumantra’s Commission, and Sita’s Vow of Marital Dharma
Addressed to SitaSetting: Ayodhya (palace quarters)
साध्वीनां हि स्थितानां तु शीले सत्ये श्रुते शमे ।
स्त्रीणां पवित्रं परमं पतिरेको विशिष्यते ॥२४॥
sādhvīnāṁ hi sthitānāṁ tu śīle satye śrute śame |
strīṇāṁ pavitraṁ paramaṁ patir eko viśiṣyate ||24||
কিন্তু শীল, সত্য, শ্রুতি-বিদ্যা আৰু শমত অচল থকা সাধ্বী স্ত্ৰীসকলৰ বাবে পতি একমাত্ৰ পৰম পবিত্ৰতা—সৰ্বোত্তম পাৱনকাৰী হিচাপে বিশেষ হয়।
Sandhi Notes
- patiḥ ekaḥ (पतिरेको)
- viśiṣyate (विशिष्यते)
But for those virtuous women whose minds are fixed in chastity, truth, scriptures and stability, the husband occupies a distinguished place and is considered supremely holy.
The teaching
For the steadfast and self-controlled, purity is safeguarded by unwavering commitment to the rightful spouse as the central dharmic axis.
Duties in tension
- Conjugal fidelity and shared hardship vs. comfort/safety in palace
- Personal fear vs. vow-like steadfastness in śīla-satya-śama
- Ethical theme
- Strī-dharma / gṛhastha-dharma
- How it resolves
- Normative affirmation of pativratā-dharma
Devotion and practice
Supports ekānta-niṣṭhā (single-pointed devotion) and śama; can be used as a vow-reminder in household sādhanā.
- Deity praised
- Pati as iṣṭa within pativratā-bhāva (contextually Rāma)
- Form of praise
- Vandana (salutation)
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Shringara (love)
- Mood
- Reverent, steadfast, purifying
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Strīdharma
- Pativratā
- Śama
Single-pointed devotion (ekāgratā) to the chosen ideal as a purifier of the mind; husband-as-deity motif parallels iṣṭa-devatā-niṣṭhā in bhakti.
Muṇḍaka’s stress on śraddhā and tapas as purifiers; here śīla-satya-śama function as inner tapas leading to purity.
- Kausalya and Sita
- Mother-in-law affirming pativratā ideal to daughter-in-law (supportive)
- Sita and Rama
- Spousal (pativratā orientation) (devotional)
Mahābhārata, Anuśāsanaparvan: pativratā-dharma and the husband as a woman’s dharma (thematic); Purāṇic narratives of pativratā power (e.g., Sāvitrī) as exemplars (thematic); Rāmacaritamānasa: Sītā’s unwavering pativratā-bhāva (thematic)
Dharmaśāstra formulations: ‘patiḥ strīṇāṃ guruḥ’ type sentiments (broad allusion)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.39.25 (application: Rāma to be treated as deity)
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn-peaceful
Madhyama with gentle pañcama lift on ‘pavitraṃ paramam’
FAQs
It defines an ideal of Dharma for a virtuous wife: truthfulness, self-control, and fidelity, where devotion to the husband is portrayed as a principal sacred duty.
As Rāma is being sent to the forest, Sītā is addressed with a value-framework that elevates steadfast marital duty, especially under hardship.
Sītā’s archetypal virtue—pativratā-niṣṭhā (single-minded fidelity)—grounded in satya and śama.
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