Every Bond Is Empty Without Her Lord
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 97
Doha 97 · Movement 2 of 2
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Sita asks Sumantra not to take offense. Anguish has compelled her to speak directly before an elder whom she honors as a father. Her humility is not hesitation, and her courtesy does not weaken the clarity of what follows.
Without the lotus feet of her noble lord, every relationship within the world becomes empty for her. She does not scorn mother, father, teacher, or royal family. Their sacred ties derive warmth and meaning from the love in which she abides with Ram.
The statement leaves no space for bargaining over comfort. Separation would turn even a palace filled with kin into absence, while companionship makes the wilderness a home. Sita's devotion is not moved by the landscape before her. It is the light by which every landscape receives its value.
Sita bows to every cherished bond, then reveals the lotus feet of Ram as the living center that makes them whole.
Read the passage from the Manas
आरति बस सनमुख भइउँ बिलगु न मानब तात। आरजसुत पद कमल बिनु बादि जहाँ लगि नात।।97।।
Compelled by anguish, I have spoken before you. Please do not feel hurt, dear father. Without the lotus feet of my noble lord, every tie in this world is meaningless to me.