Shloka 13

सीताया यशोधर्मविचारः

Sita’s Counsel on Honor, Rescue-Strategy, and Hanuman’s Reassurance

Devanagari script

यथाऽहं तस्य वीरस्य वनादुपधिना हृता।रक्षसा तद्भयादेव तथा नार्हति राघवः।।।।

Transliteration

yathāhaṃ tasya vīrasya vanād upadhinā hṛtā | rakṣasā tadbhayād eva tathā nārhati rāghavaḥ ||

Translation

So wie ich jenem Helden im Wald von einem Rākṣasa durch List—aus Furcht—geraubt wurde, so ziemt es Rāghava nicht, mich auf solche Weise zurückzunehmen; es wäre seiner unwürdig.

Word by Word

यथाjust as

अहम्I

तस्यof him

वीरस्यof the hero

वनात्from the forest

उपधिनाby deceit/stratagem

हृताabducted/taken away

रक्षसाby the demon

तत्that

भयात्from fear

एवindeed

तथाso/likewise

नnot

अर्हतिis fit/deserves

राघवःRaghava (Rama)

Context

'Tell valiant Rama not to take me back the way Ravana, the demon abducted me out of fear. Which is not right.

Characters & Entities

Sītā

Rāma (Rāghava)

Rāvaṇa (implied as rakṣasa)

forest (vana)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Dharma distinguishes righteous means from unrighteous: Sītā rejects rescue by fear or deceit because it would mirror the adharma of her abduction and diminish Rāma’s maryādā.

What is the narrative situation?

Sītā cautions that Rāma should not retrieve her by a method resembling Rāvaṇa’s deceptive abduction.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Sītā’s integrity and insistence on honorable conduct even under extreme suffering.