HomeRamayanaAranya KandaSarga 49Shloka 3.49.23
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Shloka 3.49.23

सीताहरणम् — Ravana reveals his true form and abducts Sita

ततस्सा राक्षसेन्द्रेण ह्रियमाणा विहायसा।।3.49.23।।भृशं चुक्रोश मत्तेव भ्रान्तचित्ता यथाऽऽतुरा।

tatas sā rākṣasendreṇa hriyamāṇā vihāyasā | bhṛśaṃ cukrośa matteva bhrāntacittā yathāturā ||

Then, borne through the sky by the lord of rākṣasas, she cried out loudly—like one distraught, her mind reeling as though maddened by anguish.

While Sita was being carried off in the sky by the king of demons, she screamed a lot in agony and anxiety like a mad woman in a bewildered state:

S
Sītā
R
Rāvaṇa (rākṣasendra)
V
vihāyasa (sky)

The verse foregrounds the human cost of adharma: unrighteous acts produce intense suffering, and the victim’s distress becomes a moral indictment of the aggressor.

Sītā is being abducted through the air; she screams repeatedly in panic and grief.

The virtue implied is compassion and protection of the vulnerable—precisely what dharma demands and what is absent in the abductor.