Shloka 3.49.14
सीताहरणम् — Ravana reveals his true form and abducts Sita
राज्याच्च्युतमसिद्धार्थं रामं परिमितायुषम्।कैर्गुणैरनुरक्तासि मूढे पण्डितमानिनि।।3.49.14।।यः स्त्रिया वचनाद्राज्यं विहाय ससुहृज्जनम्।अस्मिन्व्यालानुचरिते वने वसति दुर्मतिः।।3.49.15।।
ity uktvā maithilīṃ vākyaṃ priyārhāṃ priyavādinīm | abhigamya suduṣṭātmā rākṣasaḥ kāmamohitaḥ || jagrāha rāvaṇaḥ sītāṃ budhaḥ khe rohiṇīm iva ||
Having spoken thus to Maithilī—gentle of speech and worthy of love—the wicked-souled rākṣasa, deluded by lust, approached and seized Sītā, as Budha (Mercury) in the sky seizes Rohiṇī.
O stupid woman! you think you are very wise. What is there in Rama so that you are attached to him ? He has left the kingdom and his kith and kin due to the words of a woman. He has not accomplished anything (in life). He has a limited life span and now lives in this forest haunted by wild animals.
The verse marks a decisive breach of dharma: lust-driven violence and abduction. Dharma upholds protection of the vulnerable and respect for consent; adharma violates both.
Rāvaṇa, after persuasion and insult, turns to force and physically seizes Sītā—initiating the central crisis that drives the remainder of the epic.
Sītā’s dignity and innocence are foregrounded (“sweet-speaking, worthy of love”), heightening the moral gravity of Rāvaṇa’s act and the dharmic imperative to restore justice.