Shloka 5.26.46
सीताविलापः — Sita’s Lament and Prophecy of Lanka’s Ruin
अथवा न्यस्तशत्रौ तौ वने मूलफलाशिनौ।।।।भ्रातरौ हि नरश्रेष्ठौ संवृत्तौ वनगोचरौ।
athavā nyastaśatrū tau vane mūlaphalāśinau | bhrātarau hi naraśreṣṭhau saṃvṛttau vanagocarau ||
Or else, perhaps those two brothers—foremost among men—have laid aside hostility and now roam the forest, living on roots and fruits.
"May be both the brothers, foremost among men, have laid down their arms, and taken to asceticism, subsisting on roots and fruits.
It gestures toward forest-dharma (austere living and restraint): even great warriors can choose self-control and simplicity when dharma calls.
Sītā imagines alternate possibilities—perhaps Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa have turned fully to ascetic forest life, delaying any rescue.
Austerity and self-restraint (tapas, saṃyama) as possible expressions of the brothers’ nobility.