Shloka 3.64.34
गोदावरीतटे सीतान्वेषणम् — The Search for Sītā at the Godāvarī
इमां वा सरितं चाद्य शोषयिष्यामि लक्ष्मण।।।।यदि नाख्याति मे सीतामार्यां चन्द्रनिभाननाम्।
imāṁ vā saritaṁ cādya śoṣayiṣyāmi lakṣmaṇa |
yadi nākhyāti me sītām āryāṁ candranibhānanām ||
“Lakṣmaṇa, I will dry up this river this very day, if it does not tell me of noble Sītā—her face like the moon.”
O Lakshmana! if this river does not tell me about that noble Sita with countenance like the moon, I will drain it dry right now.
It dramatizes the struggle to keep dharma under emotional pressure: Rāma seeks truth (satya) about Sītā, yet must guard against harming the natural world in anger.
Rāma, failing to find Sītā, threatens even the river with drying up unless it ‘reveals’ information.
Urgency born of love and duty; the passage also foregrounds the ethical need for restraint despite power.