Shloka 12
सीताविलापः
Sita’s Lament amid Rākṣasī Threats
लोकप्रवादः सत्योऽयं पण्डितैः समुदाहृतः।अकाले दुर्लभो मृत्युः स्त्रिया वा पुरुषस्य वा।।5.25.12।।यदहमेवं क्रूराभी राक्षसीभिरिहार्दिता।जीवामि हीना रामेण मुहूर्तमपि दुःखिता।।5.25.13।।
lokapravādaḥ satyo ’yaṃ paṇḍitaiḥ samudāhṛtaḥ |
akāle durlabho mṛtyuḥ striyā vā puruṣasya vā ||5.25.12||
പണ്ഡിതർ പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ഈ ലോകപ്രവാദം സത്യമാണ്: കാലത്തിനു മുമ്പ് മരണം ലഭിക്കുക ദുർലഭം—സ്ത്രീക്കായാലും പുരുഷന്ക്കായാലും.
'There is a famous popular saying among the learned that untimely death is notpossible either for a woman or a man.It is true that I am living in this miserable condition, deprived of Rama's company and tormented by these cruel ogresses here. Living in such conditions even for a moment is impossible. But nobody dies an untimely death.
FAQs
Satya is emphasized as alignment with reality: Sītā acknowledges a truth about kāla (time)—life and death follow an order not easily broken by mere desire.
In despair, Sītā reflects on a proverbial truth that one cannot easily die ‘before one’s time,’ despite unbearable suffering.
Truthfulness and reflective wisdom: even in anguish, she reasons through a moral and existential observation.