गोदावरीतटे सीतान्वेषणम्
The Search for Sītā at the Godāvarī
निर्मर्यादानिमान्लोकान्करिष्याम्यद्य सायकैः।हृतां मृतां वा सौमित्रे न दास्यन्ति ममेश्वराः।।।।
nirmaryādān imān lokān kariṣyāmy adya sāyakaiḥ | hṛtāṃ mṛtāṃ vā saumitre na dāsyanti mameśvarāḥ ||
हे सौमित्र! यदि देवगण उसे—चाहे अपहृता हो या मृत—मुझे न सौंपें, तो आज मैं अपने बाणों से इन लोकों की मर्यादा तोड़ दूँगा, उन्हें सीमाहीन कर दूँगा।
If the gods do not hand over Sita to me either carried away or dead I will transgress these worlds, O Lakshmana !
The verse is a warning-example: when grief turns into ultimatum, even a dharmic hero speaks of crossing maryādā. Dharma upholds boundaries; abandoning them threatens order.
Rāma, unable to find Sītā, declares that if even the gods refuse to restore her, he will unleash world-transgressing destruction.
Fierce loyalty and refusal to accept injustice—paired with the ethical peril of letting emotion override restraint.