Shloka 2.29.16
सीताया वनगमननिश्चयः — Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest
शुद्धात्मन्प्रेमभावाध्दि भविष्यामि विकल्मषा।भर्तारमनुगच्छन्ती भर्ता हि मम दैवतम्।।।।
śuddhātman premabhāvād dhi bhaviṣyāmi vikalmaṣā | bhartāram anugacchantī bhartā hi mama daivatam || 2.29.16 ||
O pure-hearted one, by following my husband in love I shall be without stain; for my husband is, to me, a very deity.
O my pure-hearted one! by following my husband with love I shall become sinless, because my husband is my god.
The verse articulates pativratā-dharma as Sītā understands it: devotion expressed through faithful companionship is treated as a purifying moral path.
Sītā justifies her insistence on accompanying Rāma by presenting it as spiritually and ethically elevating, not merely emotional attachment.
Devotional fidelity—Sītā’s reverence toward her husband as her highest duty and sacred commitment.