# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 27 — Rāma agrees that Sītā will accompany him *Sītā rejects separation despite every hardship, Rāma agrees to take her and asks her to distribute their possessions* Portion: Sītā insists on joining Rāma · Verses: 33 · Ref format: 2.27. ## Sequence - Sītā challenges Rāma's courage and asks why he fears taking a wife who is devoted to him (27.1–4) - she compares her commitment to Sāvitrī's devotion to Satyavān and objects to being left in other people's care (27.5–8) - she says the journey will not exhaust her: thorns will feel soft, dust like sandal paste, and food gathered by his hands like nectar (27.9–14) - she promises not to complain or make herself a burden, saying that life with him is heaven and life without him is hell (27.15–17) - unable to imagine enduring fourteen years apart, she again threatens death, embraces him, and breaks down (27.18–24) - Rāma embraces her and explains that his reluctance came from concern for her, not inability to protect her → now that he understands her determination, he agrees that she will accompany him (27.25–28) - he asks her to distribute jewels, food, and gifts before they leave → delighted, Sītā immediately begins (27.29–33). ## Verses **2.27.1** sāntvyamānā tu rāmeṇa maithilī janakātmajā vanavāsanimittāya bhartāram idam abravīt But Sītā, princess of Mithilā, daughter of Janaka, though consoled by Rāma, said this to her husband concerning his dwelling in the forest: **2.27.2** sā tam uttamasaṃvignā sītā vipulavakṣasaṃ praṇayāc cābhimānāc ca paricikṣepa rāghavam Deeply agitated, Sītā, out of love and out of injured pride, reproached that broad-chested Rāghava: **2.27.3** kiṃ tvāmanyata vaidehaḥ pitā me mithilādhipaḥ rāma jāmātaraṃ prāpya striyaṃ puruṣavigraham What, O Rāma, did my father Vaideha, the lord of Mithilā, take you for, when he got as a son-in-law a woman in the guise of a man? **2.27.4** anṛtaṃ balaloko 'yam ajñānād yad dhi vakṣyati tejo nāsti paraṃ rāme tapatīva divākare This ignorant world would be speaking a falsehood, out of ignorance, if it said there is no splendor surpassing that in Rāma—Rāma who blazes as the sun blazes. **2.27.5** kiṃ hi kṛtvā viṣaṇṇas tvaṃ kuto vā bhayam asti te yat parityaktukāmas tvaṃ mām ananyaparāyaṇām What have you done to be so dejected, or from what quarter comes your fear, that you wish to abandon me, who am devoted to none but you? **2.27.6** dyumatsenasutaṃ vīra satyavantam anuvratām sāvitrīm iva māṃ viddhi tvam ātmavaśavartinīm Know me, O hero, to be like Sāvitrī, devoted to Satyavān the son of Dyumatsena—wholly obedient and true to you. **2.27.7** na tv ahaṃ manasāpy anyaṃ draṣṭāsmi tvadṛte 'nagha tvayā rāghava gaccheyaṃ yathānyā kulapāṃsanī Never, O sinless one, shall I look upon another man even in thought, save you; I shall go with you, Rāghava—not like some woman who brings shame upon her family. **2.27.8** svayaṃ tu bhāryāṃ kaumārīṃ ciram adhyuṣitāṃ satīm śailūṣa iva māṃ rāma parebhyo dātum icchasi Yet you yourself, O Rāma, wish to hand me over to others—me, your faithful wife wedded in maidenhood and long dwelling with you—like a player hiring out his own. **2.27.9** sa mām anādāya vanaṃ na tvaṃ prasthātum arhasi tapo vā yadi vāraṇyaṃ svargo vā syāt saha tvayā You ought not to set out for the forest without taking me; whether it be penance, or the wild woodland, or heaven—let it be shared with you. **2.27.10** na ca me bhavitā tatra kaś cit pathi pariśramaḥ pṛṣṭhatas tava gacchantyā vihāraśayaneṣv api Nor shall there be for me any weariness on the road as I walk behind you—it will be no more tiring than pleasure-walks and couches. **2.27.11** kuśakāśaśareṣīkā ye ca kaṇṭakino drumāḥ tūlājinasamasparśā mārge mama saha tvayā The kuśa, kāśa, and śara reeds, the iṣīkā grass, and the thorny bushes on the path—all these, with you beside me, will feel to me as soft to the touch as cotton or a deerskin. **2.27.12** mahāvāta samuddhūtaṃ yan mām avakariṣyati rajo ramaṇa tan manye parārdhyam iva candanam The dust that a great wind whirls up and scatters over me, that too, my beloved, I shall regard as the most precious sandal-paste. **2.27.13** śādvaleṣu yad āsiṣye vanānte vanagoracā kuthāstaraṇatalpeṣu kiṃ syāt sukhataraṃ tataḥ When, dwelling in the forest, I lie upon the grassy lawns at the woodland's edge, what could be more delightful than that, more than couches spread with woolen rugs? **2.27.14** patraṃ mūlaṃ phalaṃ yat tvam alpaṃ vā yadi vā bahu dāsyasi svayam āhṛtya tan me 'mṛtarasopamam Whatever leaf, root, or fruit—be it little or much—you gather with your own hand and give me, that will be to me like the taste of nectar. **2.27.15** na mātur na pitus tatra smariṣyāmi na veśmanaḥ ārtavāny upabhuñjānā puṣpāṇi ca phalāni ca There, enjoying the flowers and fruits of every season, I shall not think of my mother, nor my father, nor my home. **2.27.16** na ca tatra gataḥ kiṃ cid draṣṭum arhasi vipriyam matkṛte na ca te śoko na bhaviṣyāmi durbharā Once there, you shall see nothing displeasing on my account; nor shall there be any grief to you because of me, and I shall be no heavy burden. **2.27.17** yas tvayā saha sa svargo nirayo yas tvayā vinā iti jānan parāṃ prītiṃ gaccha rāma mayā saha Life with you is heaven, life without you is hell; knowing this to be my supreme joy, O Rāma, go with me. **2.27.18** atha mām evam avyagrāṃ vanaṃ naiva nayiṣyasi viṣam adyaiva pāsyāmi mā viśaṃ dviṣatāṃ vaśam But if you will not lead me, resolved as I am, to the forest, then this very day I shall drink poison—lest I fall into the power of those who hate me. **2.27.19** paścād api hi duḥkhena mama naivāsti jīvitam ujjhitāyās tvayā nātha tadaiva maraṇaṃ varam Even afterward there would be no life for me in such sorrow; if I am forsaken by you, O lord, better then at once is death. **2.27.20** idaṃ hi sahituṃ śokaṃ muhūrtam api notsahe kiṃ punar daśavarṣāṇi trīṇi caikaṃ ca duḥkhitā This grief I cannot bear even for a moment—how much less, in misery, for fourteen years! **2.27.21** iti sā śokasaṃtaptā vilapya karuṇaṃ bahu cukrośa patim āyastā bhṛśam āliṅgya sasvaram Thus, tormented by grief, having lamented long and piteously, distraught she embraced her husband tightly and wailed aloud. **2.27.22** sā viddhā bahubhir vākyair digdhair iva gajāṅganā cira saṃniyataṃ bāṣpaṃ mumocāgnim ivāraṇiḥ Pierced by his many words as by poisoned shafts, that lady, like a cow-elephant, let flow the tears she had long held back, as the fire-drill lets forth fire. **2.27.23** tasyāḥ sphaṭikasaṃkāśaṃ vāri saṃtāpasaṃbhavam netrābhyāṃ parisusrāva paṅkajābhyām ivodakam The crystal-clear water born of her anguish streamed from her eyes, as water drips from a pair of lotuses. **2.27.24** tāṃ pariṣvajya bāhubhyāṃ visaṃjñām iva duḥkhitām uvāca vacanaṃ rāmaḥ pariviśvāsayaṃs tadā Embracing with his arms that grieving woman, who seemed to swoon, Rāma then spoke these words to reassure her: **2.27.25** na devi tava duḥkhena svargam apy abhirocaye na hi me 'sti bhayaṃ kiṃ cit svayambhor iva sarvataḥ I would not desire even heaven at the price of your grief, O lady; for I have no fear from any quarter, like the Self-existent (Brahmā). **2.27.26** tava sarvam abhiprāyam avijñāya śubhānane vāsaṃ na rocaye 'raṇye śaktimān api rakṣaṇe Not knowing your whole mind, O fair-faced one, I did not favor your dwelling in the forest, though I am able to protect you. **2.27.27** yat sṛṣṭāsi mayā sārdhaṃ vanavāsāya maithili na vihātuṃ mayā śakyā kīrtir ātmavatā yathā Since you were destined, O Maithilī, to dwell in the forest along with me, I can no more forsake you than a self-possessed man his good name. **2.27.28** dharmas tu gajanāsoru sadbhir ācaritaḥ purā taṃ cāham anuvarte 'dya yathā sūryaṃ suvarcalā This dharma, O you with thighs like an elephant's trunk, was practiced by the good of old; and I today follow it, as Suvarcalā follows the Sun. **2.27.29** eṣa dharmas tu suśroṇi pitur mātuś ca vaśyatā ataś cājñāṃ vyatikramya nāhaṃ jīvitum utsahe This too is dharma, O fair-hipped one—obedience to father and mother; and so, having transgressed their command, I could not bear to live. **2.27.30** sa māṃ pitā yathā śāsti satyadharmapathe sthitaḥ tathā vartitum icchāmi sa hi dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ anugacchasva māṃ bhīru sahadharmacarī bhava As my father, standing on the path of truth and dharma, commands me, so I wish to act; for that is the eternal law. Follow me, O timid one, and be my companion in dharma. **2.27.31** brāhmaṇebhyaś ca ratnāni bhikṣukebhyaś ca bhojanam dehi cāśaṃsamānebhyaḥ saṃtvarasva ca māciram Give jewels to the brahmins and food to the mendicants and to all who look for it; make haste, and delay not. **2.27.32** anukūlaṃ tu sā bhartur jñātvā gamanam ātmanaḥ kṣipraṃ pramuditā devī dātum evopacakrame Learning that her husband now favored her own going, the lady, greatly delighted, quickly set about the giving of gifts. **2.27.33** tataḥ prahṛṣṭā paripūrṇamānasā yaśasvinī bhartur avekṣya bhāṣitam dhanāni ratnāni ca dātum aṅganā pracakrame dharmabhṛtāṃ manasvinī Then, overjoyed and content at heart, the illustrious lady, heeding her husband's words—that high-minded woman among the upholders of dharma—began to give away wealth and jewels.