Shloka 21
इमं हि सहितुं शोकं मुहूर्तमपि नोत्सहे।किं पुनर्दशवर्षाणि त्रीणि चैकं च दुःखिता।।2.30.21।।
imaṃ hi sahituṃ śokaṃ muhūrtam api notsahe | kiṃ punar daśa-varṣāṇi trīṇi caikaṃ ca duḥkhitā || 2.30.21 ||
Ich kann diesen Kummer nicht einmal für einen einzigen Augenblick ertragen; wie soll ich ihn dann, als trauernde Frau, vierzehn Jahre lang ertragen?
I cannot bear this grief even for a moment, what to speak of fourteen (ten and threeand one) years of grieving.
FAQs
Dharma is argued through truthful acknowledgement of capacity: Sītā candidly states that separation contradicts her ability to live rightly and steadily.
Sītā points to the length of exile—fourteen years—to show the impossibility of bearing separation for that duration.
Emotional truthfulness joined to steadfast commitment—she does not pretend detachment where it would be false.