The Demonesses Scatter, but the One-Month Sentence Remains with Sita
Sundara Kanda, Doha 11
Doha 11 · Movement 2 of 2
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Trijata's dream breaks the demonesses' confidence. They leave the captive and scatter far through the grove, no longer able to sustain the terror with which they surrounded her.
Sita is left again beneath the tree as the night watches continue passing. The monstrous forms have gone, but Ravana's words remain closer than any guard.
One month will pass, and then the wretched demon will kill her. That measure enters Sita's thought and closes the horizon. Trijata has proclaimed victory, yet the captive mind still hears the sword counting the days.
The grove empties of demonesses, but Ravana's month-long sentence remains seated beside Sita.
Read the passage from the Manas
जहँ तहँ गईं सकल तब सीता कर मन सोच। मास दिवस बीतें मोहि मारिहि निसिचर पोच।।11।।
Then the demonesses scattered and went their ways. Sita thought sorrowfully in her heart: "When one month passes, the wretched demon will kill me."