Shloka 5.28.13
सीताविलापः (Sita’s Lament and Resolve under Threat)
मोघो हि धर्मश्चरितो मयायंतथैकपत्नीत्वामिदं निरर्थम्।या त्वां न पश्यामि कृशा विवर्णा हीना त्वया सङ्गमने निराशा।।5.28.13।।
mogho hi dharmaś carito mayāyaṃ tathaikapatnītvam idaṃ nirartham |
yā tvāṃ na paśyāmi kṛśā vivarṇā hīnā tvayā saṅgamane nirāśā ||5.28.13||
Truly, the dharma I have practiced has become futile—so too this vow of being devoted to one husband is meaningless—since I do not see you. Separated from you, I have grown emaciated and pale, hopeless of reunion.
"This righteousnes practised by me is in vain like my devotion to you, as I am unable to see you. I am a separated, emaciated, pale with no hope of reuniting with you.
In the intensity of separation (viraha), Sita laments that righteous conduct and her vow of exclusive devotion feel purposeless if they do not lead to the truthful end of dharma—reunion with Rama and restoration of marital order.
Sita’s words express the ethical tension between inner truth (her lived suffering and honesty about despair) and dharma (steadfast virtue). The Ramayana presents this as a test of righteousness: even when outcomes seem delayed, dharma is to be upheld, and truth is spoken without deception.