Shloka 3.64.52
गोदावरीतटे सीतान्वेषणम् — The Search for Sītā at the Godāvarī
सुघोरहृदयैस्सौम्य राक्षसैः कामरूपिभिः।हृता मृता वा सीता सा भक्षिता वा तपस्विनी।।।।नधर्मस्त्रायते सीतां ह्रियमाणां महावने।
sughorahṛdayaiḥ saumya rākṣasaiḥ kāmarūpibhiḥ | hṛtā mṛtā vā sītā sā bhakṣitā vā tapasvinī || na dharmas trāyate sītāṃ hriyamāṇāṃ mahāvane |
Gentle one, those shape-shifting rākṣasas with dreadful hearts—have they abducted Sītā, or killed her, or even devoured that helpless ascetic woman? In this vast forest, even dharma did not shield Sītā as she was being carried away.
O handsome one, those demons can change their form at will and are of dreadful nature. Have they abducted or devoured or killed her in this great forest. Even her righteousness could not protect the helpless Sita.
The verse wrestles with the tension between dharma and suffering: righteousness is not a guarantee against harm in the moment, yet it remains the standard by which evil is named and must be opposed.
Rāma fears Sītā has been abducted or killed by rākṣasas and laments that her virtue did not prevent the calamity.
Protective love and moral anguish—Rāma’s deep commitment to safeguarding the righteous.