Shloka 16
सीता-रावण-संवादः
Sītā–Rāvaṇa Dialogue in the Aśoka Grove
अप्यहं कृतकाम: स्यामिमां प्राप्य वरस्त्रियम् । गच्छ जानीहि को न्वस्या नाथ इत्येव कोटिक,“यदि मैं इस सुन्दरीको पा जाऊँ तो कृतार्थ हो जाऊँगा। कोटिक! जाओ और पता लगाओ कि इसका पति कौन है?' जयद्रथका यह वचन सुनकर कुण्डलमण्डित कोटिकास्य रथसे उतर पड़ा और जैसे गीदड़ बाघकी स्त्रीसे बात करे, उसी प्रकार उसने द्रौपदीके पास जाकर पूछा
apy ahaṃ kṛtakāmaḥ syām imāṃ prāpya varastriyam | gaccha jānīhi ko nv asyā nātha ity eva koṭika ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：“若我能得到这位上等女子，我便自谓欲愿已遂。拘底迦，你去查明——她的护主（夫君/主人）是谁。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical failure: desire (kāma) unchecked by dharma leads to objectification and wrongdoing. Treating a woman as a prize to be ‘obtained’ and seeking only to identify her ‘protector’ for strategic advantage reflects adharma and foreshadows harmful action.
A powerful man, captivated by a woman described as ‘excellent,’ orders his attendant Koṭika to go and determine who her husband/protector is. This inquiry is not respectful; it is instrumental—meant to assess risk and enable an attempted taking of her.