Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s2.36

c6.s2.36

leave, O daughter of Janaka! O lovely one, the ten regions are at thy disposal, I can have nothing more to do with thee! What a man of honour would give reign to his passion so far as to permit himself to take back a woman who has dwelt in the house of another? Thou hast been taken into Rāvaṇa’s lap and he has cast lustful glances on thee; how can I reclaim thee, I who boast of belonging to an illustrious house? The end which I sought in re-conquering has been gained; I no longer have any attachment for thee; go where thou desirest! This is the outcome of my reflections, O lovely one! Turn to Lakṣmaṇa or Bharata, Śatrughna, Sugrīva or the titan Vibhīṣaṇa, take thy choice O Sītā, as pleases thee best. Assuredly Rāvaṇa, beholding thy ravishing and celestial beauty, will not have respected thy person during the time that thou didst dwell in his abode.⁴⁹