Shloka 6.118.17

सीताप्रत्याख्यानम् / Rama’s Post-Victory Address to Sītā (Public Opinion and Royal Duty)

Devanagari script

प्राप्तचारित्रसन्देहाममप्रतिमुखेस्थिता ।दीपोनेत्रातुरस्येवप्रतिकूलासिमेदृढम् ।।6.118.17।।

Transliteration

prāpta-cāritra-sandehā mama pratimukhe sthitā |

dīpo netrāturasyeva pratikūlāsi me dṛḍham ||6.118.17||

Translation

With doubt cast upon your chastity, standing before me now, you feel to me like a bright lamp to one whose eyes are diseased—painful and, in truth, unbearable.

Context

"In the event of doubtful conduct also you are standing firmly like a glowing lamp for me suffering from sore eyes and disagreeable to me."

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Sītā

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

It foregrounds the tension between truth and social suspicion: even a symbol of light can cause pain when the moral ‘eyes’ of society (or the king) are afflicted by doubt.

What is the narrative situation?

Rāma expresses discomfort at receiving Sītā publicly when her character is suspected due to her captivity.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Severe impartiality (as Rāma claims it): he speaks as one bound to standards of public judgment rather than private emotion.