Shloka 2.30.29
सीताया वनानुगमननिश्चयः — Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest
यत्सृष्टाऽसि मया सार्धं वनवासाय मैथिलि।न विहातुं मया शक्या कीर्तिरात्मवता यथा।।2.30.29।।
yat sṛṣṭā 'si mayā sārdhaṃ vanavāsāya maithili | na vihātuṃ mayā śakyā kīrtir ātmavatā yathā || 2.30.29 ||
“Since you are destined to share forest-dwelling with me, O Maithilī, I cannot abandon you—just as a man of self-respect cannot cast away his good name.”
Since you, O daughter of Mithila, were born to go along with me to the forest, I cannot abandon you just as a self-respecting man cannot forsake his reputation.
Marital fidelity and shared duty are treated as dharma; abandoning one’s spouse is likened to abandoning one’s kīrti (honour).
Rāma affirms that Sītā’s companionship in exile is inseparable from his own path and responsibility.
Integrity and loyalty—Rāma equates right conduct with preserving honour through steadfast commitment.