Shloka 2.29.21

सीताया वनगमननिश्चयः — Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest

Devanagari script

ययदि मां दुःखितामेवं वनं नेतुं न चेच्छसि।विषमग्निं जलं वाऽहमास्थास्ये मृत्युकारणात्।।।।

Transliteration

bhaktāṃ pativratāṃ dīnāṃ māṃ samāṃ sukhaduḥkhayoḥ | netum arhasi kākutstha samāna-sukhaduḥkhinīm ||

Translation

O Kakutstha, you should take me—devoted, faithful, and distressed—one who remains even in happiness and sorrow, sharing your welfare and adversity alike.

Context

If you do not wish to take your wife in this time of distress to the forest I shall die by consuming poison or throwing myself into fire or drowning in water.

Characters & Entities

• Sītā
• Rāma (Kākutstha)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Shared dharma in marriage: true partnership is measured by equal participation in hardship and duty, not only in comfort.

What is the narrative situation?

Sītā intensifies her plea, presenting herself as emotionally and ethically prepared to share exile with Rāma.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Loyalty and equanimity (sama-bhāva): Sītā claims steadiness across pleasure and pain as her defining virtue.