Sita wept for Rama and wondered where he was and why he, who had single-handed destroyed fourteen thousand rakshasas at Janasthana, had not come to rescue her. Away from Rama, she no longer found any use for her life as she lamented "Sinner that I am even death has deserted me. May I perish in the flames of a fire rather than bow to Ravana's base desires! Rama lauded even by his enemies for his virtue, valour and compassion has mercilessly abandoned me. Can he not with his unequalled might conquer Ravana, whose might is so feeble compared to Rama's? Lanka may be impregnable, but is there a place on this earth where Rama's arrows cannot reach? Why is even Lakshmana silent? Who will now tell Rama of me since Jatayu too is dead? Her anger soared, and her grief turned to vengeance as Sita cursed Lanka, looking at the rakshasa women, "If only Rama knows where I am he will dry up the oceans and blow Lanka off the face of the earth. Does Ravana not realise that by desiring me he invites not only his doom but also that of the entire rakshasa race? Every rakshasa will be hunted down and killed by Rama and Lakshmana. Every woman in this kingdom will wail louder than me, when every man in every house lies dead. My wish that the whole of Lanka turn into a grave yard, filled with the acrid smoke of burning bodies and swooping vultures, will soon come true. I see a myriad omens that bode you ill. Mighty rakshasas will fall, Ravana too shall die and Lanka, like a woman without a husband shall be widowed, losing its lord, its glory and its splendor." 'Ignorant of the norms of virtue, unaware and unable to discern between good and evil, the indiscriminate hordes aspire to attain the unattainable. This pitiless demon Ravana with no qualms about defying dharma, will in his wickedness surely devour me, as the time he has given to yield to her is also drawing close. Sita who was battling with the turmoil that raged in her, even doubted if Rama still lived! "Perhaps unable to bear my separation Rama has already reached the land of the gods. Fortunate are they who behold him in that heaven or has Rama in his asceticism lost interest in me? Is my misfortune the cause of my misery of is it punishment for some transgression of mine?" Brooding over her fate, fervently seeking death as salvation to her endless woes, Sita said, "That which one loves gives pleasure and that which one hates gives pain. I bow down to those sages who renouncing both pleasure and pain live in eternal bliss. Blessed are those who do not discriminate between good and evil, and whom neither sorrow nor joy sways But because I am not like one among them, I think only of that which pleases me and so I think of Rama alone whom I love. Bereft of him and prisoner of Ravana I cannot live!"
Summary
Sita wept for Rama and wondered where he was and why he, who had single-handed destroyed fourteen thousand rakshasas at Janasthana, had not come to rescue her. Away from Rama, she no longer found any use for her life as she lamented "Sinner that I am even death has deserted me. May I perish in the flames of a fire rather than bow to Ravana's base desires! Rama lauded even by his enemies for his virtue, valour and compassion has mercilessly abandoned me. Can he not with his unequalled might conquer Ravana, whose might is so feeble compared to Rama's? Lanka may be impregnable, but is there a place on this earth where Rama's arrows cannot reach? Why is even Lakshmana silent? Who will now tell Rama of me since Jatayu too is dead? Her anger soared, and her grief turned to vengeance as Sita cursed Lanka, looking at the rakshasa women, "If only Rama knows where I am he will dry up the oceans and blow Lanka off the face of the earth. Does Ravana not realise that by desiring me he invites not only his doom but also that of the entire rakshasa race? Every rakshasa will be hunted down and killed by Rama and Lakshmana. Every woman in this kingdom will wail louder than me, when every man in every house lies dead. My wish that the whole of Lanka turn into a grave yard, filled with the acrid smoke of burning bodies and swooping vultures, will soon come true. I see a myriad omens that bode you ill. Mighty rakshasas will fall, Ravana too shall die and Lanka, like a woman without a husband shall be widowed, losing its lord, its glory and its splendor." 'Ignorant of the norms of virtue, unaware and unable to discern between good and evil, the indiscriminate hordes aspire to attain the unattainable. This pitiless demon Ravana with no qualms about defying dharma, will in his wickedness surely devour me, as the time he has given to yield to her is also drawing close. Sita who was battling with the turmoil that raged in her, even doubted if Rama still lived! "Perhaps unable to bear my separation Rama has already reached the land of the gods. Fortunate are they who behold him in that heaven or has Rama in his asceticism lost interest in me? Is my misfortune the cause of my misery of is it punishment for some transgression of mine?" Brooding over her fate, fervently seeking death as salvation to her endless woes, Sita said, "That which one loves gives pleasure and that which one hates gives pain. I bow down to those sages who renouncing both pleasure and pain live in eternal bliss. Blessed are those who do not discriminate between good and evil, and whom neither sorrow nor joy sways But because I am not like one among them, I think only of that which pleases me and so I think of Rama alone whom I love. Bereft of him and prisoner of Ravana I cannot live!"