Shloka 3.53.17
सीताविलापः रावणनिन्दा च (Sita’s Lament and Condemnation of Ravana)
मुमूर्षूणां हि सर्वेषां यत्पथ्यं तन्न रोचते।।3.53.17।।पश्याम्यद्य हि कण्ठेत्वां कालपाशावपाशितम्।
na nūnaṃ cātmanaḥ pathyaṃ śreyo vā samavekṣase ||3.53.16||
mṛtyu-kāle yathā martyo viparītāni sevate |
Surely you cannot discern what is truly beneficial or good for yourself—just as mortals, when death is near, take to what is contrary to their own welfare.
Those who wish to die, do not like anything salutary. I see the noose of death wound round your neck now.
Adharma clouds judgment: when one chooses wrongdoing, one loses the capacity to recognize one’s true good (śreyas) and acts against self-welfare.
During the abduction, Sītā rebukes Rāvaṇa, interpreting his conduct as a sign of impending ruin—like a dying person acting irrationally.
Sītā’s discernment (viveka) and commitment to truth—she diagnoses moral blindness as the consequence of unrighteous action.