Shloka 3
सीताया धर्मोपदेशः—शस्त्रसंयोगदोषकथा
Sita’s Counsel on Dharma and the Peril of Weapon-Association
त्रीण्येव व्यसनान्यत्र कामजानि भवन्त्युत।मिथ्यावाक्यं परमकं तस्माद्गुरुतरावुभौ।।3.9.3।।परदाराभिगमनं विना वैरं च रौद्रता।
trīṇy eva vyasanāny atra kāmajāni bhavanty uta |
mithyāvākyaṃ paramakaṃ tasmād gurutarāv ubhau ||
paradārābhigamanaṃ vinā vairaṃ ca raudratā ||
Hier gibt es wahrlich nur drei Laster, die aus Begierde entstehen: die Lüge ist ihre vornehmste Wurzel; darum sind die beiden anderen noch schwerer — sich der Frau eines anderen zu nähern und Gewalt ohne jede Feindschaft zu verüben.
Where is the question of wielding a weapon and living in the forest, where is the life of a kshatriya and the life of penance? For us, this is an encroachment. Let the law of the land be honoured.
FAQs
Desire (kāma) must be governed by dharma: truthfulness, sexual fidelity, and non-violence are protected as moral boundaries, and violating them leads to serious ethical downfall.
In the forest episode, Sītā counsels Rāma on moral conduct and warns against actions that would contradict righteous restraint, framing certain acts as ‘vices born of desire’.
Moral discernment and self-control—recognizing desire-driven impulses and rejecting them in favor of dharma.