Shloka 5.21.31
सीताया रावणं प्रति धर्मोपदेशः (Sita’s Dharmic Admonition to Ravana)
न हि गन्धमुपाघ्राय रामलक्ष्मणयोस्त्वया।।।।शक्यं संदर्शने स्थातुं शुना शार्दूलयोरिव।
na hi gandham upāghrāya rāma-lakṣmaṇayos tvayā | śakyaṃ saṃdarśane sthātuṃ śunā śārdūlayor iva ||
Had you even caught the scent of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, you could not have stood before them—like a dog before two tigers.
"Had you smelt the presence of Rama and Lakshmna, it would not have been possible for you to stand there, like a dog under the gaze of a pair of tigers.
True strength aligns with honor; cowardly wrongdoing avoids rightful confrontation and therefore stands condemned by dharma.
Sītā mocks Rāvaṇa’s inability to face Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa directly, highlighting that the abduction relied on evasion.
Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa’s heroic intimidation of adharma—righteous valor that wrongdoers cannot endure.