Shloka 17
सीताप्रत्याख्यानम् / Rama’s Post-Victory Address to Sītā
Public Opinion and Royal Duty
प्राप्तचारित्रसन्देहाममप्रतिमुखेस्थिता ।दीपोनेत्रातुरस्येवप्रतिकूलासिमेदृढम् ।।6.118.17।।
prāpta-cāritra-sandehā mama pratimukhe sthitā |
dīpo netrāturasyeva pratikūlāsi me dṛḍham ||6.118.17||
เมื่อความสงสัยในความบริสุทธิ์แห่งพรหมจรรย์ของเจ้าได้บังเกิด และเจ้ามายืนอยู่ต่อหน้าเรา บัดนี้เจ้าดูประหนึ่งประทีปสว่างต่อผู้มีโรคตา—แสบเจ็บ และแท้จริงแล้วเป็นสิ่งที่เราทนมิได้
"In the event of doubtful conduct also you are standing firmly like a glowing lamp for me suffering from sore eyes and disagreeable to me."
FAQs
It foregrounds the tension between truth and social suspicion: even a symbol of light can cause pain when the moral ‘eyes’ of society (or the king) are afflicted by doubt.
Rāma expresses discomfort at receiving Sītā publicly when her character is suspected due to her captivity.
Severe impartiality (as Rāma claims it): he speaks as one bound to standards of public judgment rather than private emotion.