Valmiki Ramayana 2.30.6: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 30, Shloka 6
सीताया वनानुगमननिश्चयः · Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest
Spoken by Sita to RamaSetting: Ayodhya (royal quarters/palace context)
द्युमत्सेनसुतं वीर सत्यवन्तमनुव्रताम् ।
सावित्रीमिव मां विद्धि त्वमात्मवशवर्तिनीम् ॥६॥
dyumatsenasutaṃ vīra satyavantam anuvratām |
sāvitrīm iva māṃ viddhi tvam ātmavaśavartinīm ||6||
वीर, मुझे सावित्री समझो। जैसे सावित्री सत्यवंत के साथ थी, मैं भी तुम्हारे साथ हूँ। मैं हमेशा तुम्हारी मर्ज़ी के साथ चलती हूँ।
Sandhi Notes
- dyumatsēnasutaṃ = dyumatsena-sutam (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
- sāvitrīmiva = sāvitrīm iva
- tvamātmavaśavartinīm = tvam ātmavaśavartinīm.
Know, O valiant one, that by remaining subordinate to you, I am as faithful to you as Savitri was to her husband, Satyavanta, son of Dyumatsena.
The teaching
Dharma is strengthened when one’s chosen vows align with steadfast fidelity and shared hardship.
Duties in tension
- Rāma’s protective duty toward Sītā vs Sītā’s chosen duty of accompanying her husband
- Royal propriety/safety vs pativratā-dharma and marital solidarity
- Ethical theme
- Gṛhastha-dharma / strī-dharma (pativratā-niṣṭhā)
- How it resolves
- Assertion of vow and identity through exemplum (Sāvitrī)
For your practice
Contemplation on niṣṭhā (steadfastness) and vrata as inner discipline; cultivating fidelity to one’s dharma.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shringara (love), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Steadfast, vowed, tender
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Pativratā
- Itihāsa allusion
- Ethics
- Maryādā
Self-surrender of the individual will (ahaṅkāra) into a higher chosen order; niyama as inner discipline.
Ideal of steadfastness (dhṛti) and truth-alignment (satya-niṣṭhā) reminiscent of Upaniṣadic praise of satya and brahmacarya as supports of realization.
- Sita and Rama
- Wife-to-husband vow of fidelity (pativrata) (devotional)
- Sita and Savitri
- Exemplary identification with an ideal pativrata (reverential)
- Savitri and Satyavan
- Wife devoted to husband (devotional)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva: Sāvitrī-upākhyāna (Sāvitrī and Satyavān narrative)
Itihāsa ideal of pativratā as dharma-protecting power
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Sītā’s insistence on accompanying Rāma to the forest (2.30 context)
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn
Madhyama-gati, śānta-udātta emphasis on 'sāvitrīmiva'
FAQs
Dharma is presented as fidelity and constancy in marriage: Sītā frames her commitment through the exemplar of Sāvitrī, associating righteousness with unwavering loyalty and truthfulness.
Sītā argues for her inseparability from Rāma by invoking a well-known dharmic model (Sāvitrī), reinforcing that she will follow him even into hardship.
Sītā’s anuvrata nature—faithful adherence to her spouse and vows—anchored in cultural memory of exemplary virtue.
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