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||
کہتے ہیں کہ ناری کے لیے پہلا مرن شوہر کی موت کو اس کی کوتاہی سے منسوب کیا جاتا ہے؛ مگر تُو تو سُوورت اور سادھو ورت والا تھا، پھر بھی میرے سامنے گر پڑا، حالانکہ میں سچّی چال چلتی رہی۔
"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.