Shloka 5.24.6
सीताभर्त्सना — The Ogresses’ Threats to Sita and Her Vow of Fidelity
राक्षसीनां वचः श्रुत्वा सीता पद्मनिभेक्षणा।
नेत्राभ्यामश्रुपूर्णाभ्यामिदं वचनमब्रवीत्।।5.24.6।।
rākṣasīnām vacaḥ śrutvā sītā padmanibhekṣaṇā |
netrābhyām aśrupūrṇābhyām idaṃ vacanam abravīt ||5.24.6||
Hearing the words of the ogresses, Sītā—lotus-eyed—her two eyes brimming with tears, spoke these words in reply.
Hearing the words of the ogresses, Sita with eyes like lotus petals full of tears repliedthis way:
The verse frames Sītā’s response as arising from steadfast moral resolve under suffering: even in grief, she answers in a way aligned with fidelity and righteousness.
In Laṅkā, after hearing the ogresses’ coercive speech, Sītā—overcome with tears—begins her reply.
Moral steadiness under duḥkha (sorrow): Sītā does not collapse into compliance; she prepares to speak from conviction.