Shloka 2.118.34
अनसूयोपदेशः तथा सीताया स्वयंवरकथा (Anasuya’s Counsel and Sita’s Swayamvara Narrative)
पतिसंयोगसुलभं वयो दृष्ट्वा तु मे पिता।चिन्तामभ्यगमद्धीनो वित्तनाशादिवाधनः।।2.118.34।।
pati-saṁyoga-sulabhaṁ vayo dṛṣṭvā tu me pitā | cintām abhyagamad dhīno vitta-nāśād ivādhanaḥ || 2.118.34 ||
But when my father saw I had reached the age fit for marriage, he fell into anxiety—like a poor man desolate after losing his wealth.
When my father saw I had attained the marriageable age, he was immersed in sorrow like an indigent man who had lost all his wealth.
Dharma includes timely fulfillment of social duties—here, a father’s obligation to arrange a worthy marriage—creating moral pressure when the duty seems hard to complete.
As Sītā reaches marriageable age, Janaka worries intensely about her future.
Janaka’s conscientiousness: he feels duty-bound and suffers when he cannot immediately secure the right outcome.