Valmiki Ramayana 2.39.31: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 39, Shloka 31
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः · Dasaratha’s Lament, Sumantra’s Commission, and Sita’s Vow of Marital Dharma
Spoken by Sita to KausalyaSetting: Ayodhya (royal inner apartments)
साहमेवं गता श्रेष्ठा श्रुतधर्मपरावरा ।
आर्ये किमवमन्येऽहं स्त्रीणां भर्ता हि दैवतम् ॥३१॥
sāham evaṃ gatā śreṣṭhā śrutadharma-parāvarā |
ārye kim avamanye 'haṃ strīṇāṃ bhartā hi daivatam ||31||
सीता ने कहा, मैंने धरम के बारे में जो सुना है, उसके हिसाब से मैं ऐसी लड़की कैसे हो सकती जो अपने पति को छोटा समझे? और देवी, एक औरत के लिए उसका पति भगवान जैसा होता है।
Sandhi Notes
- साहम् = सा + अहम्
- अवमन्येऽहम् = अवमन्ये + अहम् (अ + अ → ’)
- (पादान्त) आर्ये किमवमन्येऽहं = आर्ये किम् अवमन्ये अहम्
Instructed about my obligations by an eminent lady (her mother?), imbued with these ideals, how can I, O exalted one, underestimate him (my husband)? For a woman the husband is a god indeed!
The teaching
Dharma, once learned and internalized, becomes spontaneous conduct; relational duty is framed as sacred service.
Duties in tension
- Spousal devotion to Rāma (pati-dharma)
- Deference to elders/queen-mother’s grief and counsel
- Personal safety/comfort vs dharma-based accompaniment and loyalty
- Ethical theme
- Svadharma / gṛhastha-dharma
- How it resolves
- Principle-based affirmation (niyama-niṣṭhā): husband-centered duty is non-negotiable
Devotion and practice
Cultivates sevā-bhāva and steadfastness in vows; transforms household duty into worship.
- Deity praised
- Rāma (as pati and daivatam in Sītā’s vow)
- Form of praise
- Vandana (salutation)
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Shringara (love)
- Mood
- Resolute, reverent, composed
Themes
- Dharma
- Strīdharma
- Maryādā
- Ethics
- Satya (steadfast truthfulness)
Seeing the beloved/guardian as īśvara-pratīka: devotion expressed through service (sevā) to the ‘near’ form rather than abstract metaphysics.
Taittirīya Upaniṣad’s ethic of reverence (mātṛ-devo bhava, pitṛ-devo bhava) is mirrored here in the extension of ‘deva’ language to relational duty.
- Sita and Rama
- Spouses (pativrata ideal) (reverent devotion)
- Sita and Kausalya
- Daughter-in-law to mother-in-law; respectful address (ārye) (deferential warmth)
- Sita and Dharma
- Disciple to dharma-śāstra; internalized ethical code (steadfast adherence)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.27 (Sītā’s insistence on accompanying Rāma; dharma-based spousal duty); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.30-2.31 (Sītā’s arguments on strī-dharma and forest-going)
Manusmṛti 5.154-155 (traditional formulations of pativratā ideals; not identical but thematically adjacent); Tulsīdāsa Rāmacaritamānasa, Ayodhyākāṇḍa (Sītā’s steadfastness and dharma-grounded speech)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa context: preparations for vana-vāsa; consolations and vows within the palace
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Solemn
Madhyama-gati, niṣāda-nyāsa
FAQs
The verse frames fidelity and reverence toward one’s spouse as a dharmic commitment grounded in education and tradition, presenting it as a truth (satya) Sītā will not violate.
Sītā responds to Kauśalyā, defending her unwavering stance toward Rāma and rejecting any suggestion of separating her welfare from his destiny.
Sītā’s integrity and constancy—holding to what she has learned as dharma despite impending hardship.
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