← 2.24.18 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 24: Sītā claims a share in the exile
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.24.19
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 24: Sītā claims a share in the exile. She insists that a wife shares her husband’s fate and chooses forest hardship with Rāma over comfort without him
In the sequence: she declares that she is prepared to die rather than be separated from him → Rāma remains reluctant and begins explaining the dangers of forest life.
2.24.19
tathā bruvāṇām api dharmavatsalo na ca sma sītāṃ nṛvaro ninīṣati
na ca sma sītāṃ nṛvaro ninīṣati
uvāca caināṃ bahu saṃnivartane vane nivāsasya ca duḥkhitāṃ prati
vane nivāsasya ca duḥkhitāṃ prati
Though she spoke thus, that best of men, devoted to dharma, did not wish to take Sītā along; and he said much to her, grieved as she was, urging her to turn back and about the hardships of dwelling in the forest.
Words: tathā bruvāṇām api — though speaking thus; dharmavatsalo — devoted to dharma; na ca sma — and did not; sītāṃ — Sītā; nṛvaro — the best of men; ninīṣati — wishes to take, lead; uvāca caināṃ — and he said to her; bahu — much; saṃnivartane — concerning turning back; vane nivāsasya ca — and of dwelling in the forest; duḥkhitāṃ prati — toward the grieved one
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.