Shloka 5.21.4
सीताया रावणं प्रति धर्मोपदेशः (Sita’s Dharmic Admonition to Ravana)
अकार्यं न मया कार्यमेकपत्न्या विगर्हितम्।।।।कुलं सम्प्राप्तया पुण्यं कुले महति जातया।
yathā tava tathā anyeṣāṃ dārā rakṣyā niśācara |
ātmānam upamāṃ kṛtvā sveṣu dāreṣu ramyatām ||
O night-roamer, as your own wives must be protected, so too must the wives of others be protected. Taking yourself as the measure, delight in your own wives.
"I was born of high lineage and joined a meritorious family by virtue of my marriage. I am devoted only to my husband. I should not commit this contemptible, forbidden act."
The ethic of reciprocity: what one expects for one’s own household must be extended to others—protect others’ marriages as you protect your own.
Sītā instructs Rāvaṇa to restrain himself and to respect social order by honoring others’ marital bonds.
Moral reasoning and compassion—Sītā argues from fairness and social duty.