Shloka 3.53.19
सीताविलापः रावणनिन्दा च (Sita’s Lament and Condemnation of Ravana)
नदीं वैतरणीं घोरां रुधिरौघनिवाहिनीम्।।3.53.19।।असिपत्रवनं चैव भीमं पश्यसि रावण।
yathā cāsmin bhaya-sthāne na bibheṣi daśānana ||3.53.18||
vyaktaṃ hiraṇmayān hi tvaṃ sampaśyasi mahīruhān |
O Daśānana, since in this very place of terror you feel no fear, it is plain that you are seeing golden trees—an omen that death draws near.
O Ravana, you see the dreadful river Vaitarani with torrents of blood flowing and frightening forest of trees with swords as leaves.
Moral numbness to fear of wrongdoing is itself a warning: when adharma dominates, a person loses healthy restraint and moves toward self-destruction.
Sītā interprets Rāvaṇa’s fearless persistence in sin as a death-omen, expressed through the traditional sign of ‘seeing golden trees.’
Sītā’s insight and composure: she reads the ethical meaning of events and speaks with unwavering conviction.