राक्षसी-भर्त्सना
The Demonesses’ Coercive Counsel to Sītā
तस्य पुत्रो विशालाक्षि रावणः शत्रुरावणः।तस्य त्वं राक्षसेन्द्रस्य भार्या भवितुमर्हसि।।।।मयोक्तं चारुसर्वाङ्गिः वाक्यं किं नानुमन्यसे।
tasya putro viśālākṣi rāvaṇaḥ śatrurāvaṇaḥ |
tasya tvaṃ rākṣasendrasya bhāryā bhavitum arhasi ||
mayoktaṃ cāru-sarvāṅgiḥ vākyaṃ kiṃ nānumanyase |
O Weitblickende, sein Sohn ist Rāvaṇa, der Bezwinger der Feinde. Du bist würdig, die Gemahlin jenes Herrn der Rākṣasas zu werden. O Schöngegliederte, warum stimmst du meinen Worten nicht zu?
'O large-eyes lady! to become the wife of the lord of demons is a stroke of good luck. You deserve to be one. O lady of beautiful limbs! why don't you accept his proposal?'
Dharma insists that marriage and union must be righteous and freely chosen; the verse portrays adharma by urging Sītā to accept a wrongful relationship based on power and flattery.
Ekajaṭā culminates her genealogical praise by directly pressing Sītā to become Rāvaṇa’s wife.
Sītā’s chastity and fidelity (pativratā-dharma) are the central virtues challenged by this proposal.