Shloka 2.28.11
सीतानिवर्तनप्रयत्नः — Rama’s Attempt to Dissuade Sita from Forest Exile
सुप्यते पर्णशय्यासु स्वयं भग्नासु भूतले।रात्रिषु श्रमखिन्नेन तस्माद्दुःखतरं वनम्।।2.28.11।।
supyate parṇaśayyāsu svayaṁ bhagnāsu bhūtale | rātriṣu śramakhinnena tasmād duḥkhataraṁ vanam ||
At night, worn out by toil, one must sleep on the bare ground upon beds of leaves that have fallen of themselves; therefore the forest is even more painful.
Exhausted with struggles one has to sleep at night on a bed of leaves fallen on their own on the ground. Therefore, forest life is extremely painful.
Dharma is not romanticized: Rāma highlights austerity as a real discipline, warning that choosing the righteous path often entails bodily hardship.
Rāma continues listing concrete discomforts of exile to test or temper Sītā’s resolve.
Truthfulness and protective concern—Rāma speaks plainly about suffering.