Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 32, Shloka 9
सीताविलापः
Sītā’s Lament over the Illusory Head and Bow
प्रथमंमरणंनार्याभर्तुर्वैगुण्यमुच्यते ।सुवृत्त: स्साधुवृत्तायास्सम्वृत्तस्त्वंममाग्रतः ।।6.32.9।।
prathamaṃ maraṇaṃ nāryā bhartur vaiguṇyam ucyate |
suvṛttaḥ sādhuvṛttāyāḥ saṃvṛttas tvaṃ mamāgrataḥ ||6.32.9||
భర్త మరణం మొదట భార్య దోషమేనని అంటారు; కానీ నేను సద్గుణవతినై ఉన్నప్పటికీ, నీవు—సువృత్తుడవు, ధర్మనిష్ఠుడవు—నా ముందే పతితుడవైనావు.
"O Rama, you are faithful to your vows, a noble one! It is said that because of a woman's faults, the husband will die. It is not even so as you died in front of a virtuous woman of good conduct."
FAQs
It probes moral causality and responsibility: Sītā challenges a conventional attribution of blame to the wife, asserting her own satya (truthful integrity) and lamenting the apparent injustice.
In grief, Sītā reflects on a proverbial belief that a wife’s fault causes the husband’s death, then rejects its applicability to her situation.
Sītā’s self-scrutiny and commitment to truth (satya), alongside her claim of steadfast good conduct.