Shloka 2.29.18
सीताया वनगमननिश्चयः — Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest
प्रेत्यभावे हि कल्याण स्सङ्गमो मे सह त्वया। श्रुतिर्हि श्रूयते पुण्या ब्राह्मणानां यशस्विनाम्।।2.29.17।।इहलोके च पितृभिर्या स्त्री यस्य महामते। अद्भिर्दत्ता स्वधर्मेण प्रेत्यभावेऽपि तस्य सा।।2.29.18।।
pretyabhāve hi kalyāṇaḥ saṅgamo me saha tvayā | śrutir hi śrūyate puṇyā brāhmaṇānāṃ yaśasvinām ||2.29.17||
Even after death, O noble one, my union with you is held to be auspicious. For a sacred Vedic teaching is heard—recited by renowned brahmins.
My union with you, O highminded one, is auspicious even beyond death. A woman, given away by her parents in accordance with traditional offerings of water belongs to him even after death and lives with him. This is a statement from the Vedas quoted by famous brahmins.
The verse appeals to marital dharma as a sacred bond affirmed by śruti: companionship and duty between spouses is not merely social but religiously grounded, extending beyond worldly convenience.
Sītā argues with Rāma during preparations for his forest exile, insisting that she should accompany him and grounding her claim in Vedic authority.
Sītā’s steadfastness (pativratā-niṣṭhā) and commitment to dharma—she frames her desire to go not as sentiment alone but as principled duty.