Shloka 3.60.9
सीतान्वेषणविलापः (Rama’s Lament and Search for Sita)
गता विचेतुं पुष्पाणि फलान्यपि च वा पुनः।अथवा पद्मिनीं याता जलार्थं वा नदीं गता।।3.60.9।।
gatā vicetuṃ puṣpāṇi phalāni api ca vā punaḥ |
athavā padminīṃ yātā jalārthaṃ vā nadīṃ gatā || 3.60.9 ||
“Or perhaps she has gone to gather flowers, or fruits; or she has gone to a lotus-pond, or to the river for water.”
'Maybe she has gone to pluck flowers or fruits. Or to the lotus-pond or river to fetch water.'
Dharma includes restraint and balanced judgment: even in distress, Rāma considers ordinary, truthful explanations before concluding the worst.
Rāma continues reasoning through possibilities, shifting from fearful outcomes to plausible daily activities like collecting flowers or fetching water.
Practical discernment—Rāma’s hope is guided by reason, not denial.