Shloka 41
रावणो<पि पुरी गत्वा लड़कां कामबलात्कृत: । सीतां निवेशयामास भवने नन्दनोपमे,इधर कामके वशीभूत हुए रावणने भी लंकापुरीमें पहुँचकर सीताको अशोकवाटिकाके निकट तपस्वी मुनियोंके आश्रमकी भाँति शान्तिपूर्ण तथा नन््दनवनके समान रमणीय भवनमें ठहराया। पतिका निरन्तर चिन्तन करते-करते सीताका शरीर दुर्बल हो गया था। वे तपस्विनीवेषमें वहाँ रहती थीं
rāvaṇo 'pi purī gatvā laṅkāṃ kāmabalāt kṛtaḥ | sītāṃ niveśayāmāsa bhavane nandanopame ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Rāvaṇa too, having reached the city of Laṅkā—driven by the force of his desire—caused Sītā to be lodged in a mansion like Nandana (Indra’s pleasure-grove).” The verse underscores how unchecked kāma (desire) can overpower judgment and lead to adharma, even when the outward setting is made alluring and seemingly secure.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of kāma when it becomes dominant: desire can compel a person toward adharma, masking wrongdoing with external comforts and beauty (a ‘Nandana-like’ residence) while the underlying act remains coercive and unrighteous.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates that Rāvaṇa, after arriving in Laṅkā, has Sītā placed in an exquisitely pleasant mansion likened to Nandana. It is part of the embedded Rāmāyaṇa narrative describing Sītā’s confinement after her abduction.