Valmiki Ramayana 2.30.20: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 30, Shloka 20
सीताया वनानुगमननिश्चयः · Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest
पश्चादपि हि दुःखेन मम नैवास्ति जीवितम् ।
उज्झितायास्त्वया नाथ तदैव मरणं वरम् ॥२०॥
paścād api hi duḥkhena mama naivāsti jīvitam |
ujjhitāyās tvayā nātha tadaiva maraṇaṃ varam ||20||
പിന്നെയും ഇത്തരമൊരു ദുഃഖത്തിൽ എനിക്കു ജീവൻ നിലനിൽക്കില്ല. ഹേ നാഥാ, നീ എന്നെ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ചാൽ ആ നിമിഷം തന്നെ മരണം ശ്രേയസ്കരം.
If forsaken, O Lord! I shall not live a life of sorrow. Instant death is better (than abandoned existence).
FAQs
Dharma is framed as inseparability in rightful marriage: abandonment is portrayed not merely as emotional loss but as a collapse of the moral order of her life.
Sītā argues that being left behind while Rāma goes to exile would be unbearable, equating it with a fate worse than death.
Uncompromising fidelity—she refuses a compromised life that contradicts her understanding of duty.
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