Shloka 48
अभिज्ञानप्रदानम्
The Token of Recognition (Chūḍāmaṇi) and the Crow Episode Recalled
ममैव दुष्कृतं किञ्चिन्महदस्ति न संशयः।समर्थावपि तौ यन्मां नावेक्षेते परन्तपौ।।5.38.48।।
mamaiva duṣkṛtaṃ kiñcin mahad asti na saṃśayaḥ | samarthāv api tau yan māṃ nāvekṣete parantapau ||5.38.48||
നിശ്ചയം എന്റെതായ ഏതോ മഹാദുഷ്കൃത്യം ഉണ്ടാകണം—സംശയമില്ല; അതുകൊണ്ടുതന്നെ ശേഷിയുള്ളവരായിട്ടും ആ രണ്ടു ശത്രുതാപകർ എന്റെ മോചനത്തേക്കു നോക്കുന്നില്ല.
"Perhaps I must have committed an atrocious sin. There is no doubt. For although both of them are scorchers of enemies, they deliver me not."
FAQs
It reflects a karmic moral lens common in Itihāsa: suffering prompts self-examination, even when the sufferer is not at fault—showing how grief can distort ethical judgment.
Overwhelmed by continued captivity, Sītā turns inward and suspects her own past misdeed as the cause of delayed rescue.
Sītā’s moral seriousness and introspection—she judges herself rather than blaming others, even in hardship.