Shloka 3.55.14
रावणस्य सीताप्रलोभनम् (Ravana’s Attempt to Allure Sita)
दश राक्षसकोट्यश्च द्वाविंशतिरथापराः।तेषां प्रभुरहं सीते सर्वेषां भीमकर्मणाम्।।3.55.14।।वर्जयित्वा जरावृद्धान्बालांश्च रजनीचरान्।
daśa rākṣasakoṭyaś ca dvāviṃśatir athāparāḥ |
teṣāṃ prabhur ahaṃ sīte sarveṣāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām ||3.55.14||
varjayitvā jarāvṛddhān bālāṃś ca rajanīcarān |
“O Sītā, setting aside the aged and the young among the night-rangers, I am the lord of them all—of ten crores of rākṣasas and a further twenty-two, all of dreadful deeds.”
O Sita, leaving aside children and the aged, I am the lord of crores of night-rangers in addition to ten crore demons and twentytwo crore terrorists.
Dharma rejects intimidation as a basis for relationship or consent; boasting of power to pressure another is a hallmark of Adharma.
Rāvaṇa begins his pitch to Sītā by advertising the scale of his forces and his supremacy among them.
Sītā’s moral courage is the implied counterpoint: righteousness does not yield to threats or displays of dominance.