Shloka 3.9.32
सीताया धर्मोपदेशः—शस्त्रसंयोगदोषकथा (Sita’s Counsel on Dharma and the Peril of Weapon-Association)
आत्मानं नियमैस्तैस्तै कर्शयित्वा प्रयत्नतः।।3.9.32।।प्राप्यते निपुणैर्धर्मो न सुखाल्लभ्यते सुखम्।
akṣayā tu bhavet prītiḥ śvaśrūśvaśurayor mama |
yadi rājyaṃ parityajya bhaves tvaṃ nirato muniḥ ||
If, having renounced the kingdom, you had become steadfast as a muni, an ascetic sage, then unending joy would have arisen for my mother-in-law and father-in-law.
The wise earn dharma through getting their bodies emaciated by carefully adoptingdifferent means of discipline (self-torture). Happiness does not beget happiness.
Dharma is shown as balancing renunciation and familial expectations; Sītā frames lasting contentment for elders as linked to a consistent life-choice (full renunciation).
Sītā reflects on the implications of Rāma’s life-path: if he had truly chosen asceticism, his parents would have had a stable form of consolation, unlike the tension of mixed roles.
Consideration for elders and clarity of life-purpose (steadfastness rather than wavering between roles).