Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 77: The Newly-wed Couples Reach Ayodhyā
Text 1.77.34
तस्याश्च भर्ता द्विगुणं हृदये परिवर्तते।
अन्तर्जातमपि व्यक्तमाख्याति हृदयं हृदा॥
tasyāś ca bhartā dvi-guṇaṁ hṛdaye parivartate
antar-jātam api vyaktam ākhyāti hṛdayaṁ hṛdā
tasyāḥ ca bhartā = Her husband; dvi-guṇam = doubly; hṛdaye = in her heart; parivartate = was present; antar-jātam api vyaktam ākhyāti hṛdayam hṛdāyaṁ hṛdā = He distinctly and intuitively knew her affection for Him in her heart.
Her husband was doubly present in her heart. He distinctly and intuitively knew her affection for Him in her heart.
This verse reveals that Sītā was also deeply attached to Rāma just as He was attached to her. It was noted earlier that she had placed Him in her heart. That is elaborated here.
“Her husband was doubly present in her heart” means “Sītā loved Rāma twice as much as He loved her because Rāma’s love for Sītā was [ultimately] for two reasons: (1) Daśaratha had Him married to her, and (2) Sītā was beautiful, virtuous and so on. On the other hand, Sītā’s love for Rāma was only due to one reason: He was her husband.
[In this regard,] Sītā-devī will tell Anasūyā:
yady api eṣa bhaved bhartā mamārye vṛtta-varjitaḥ
advaidham upacartavyas tathāpy eṣa mayā bhavet
“Lady, even if my husband is devoid of a livelihood, still I will unhesitatingly serve Him.” (Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa 2.118.3)
How did Rāma detect such deep affection for Him in Sītā’s heart? He could detect the symptoms of such affection because she had kept Him in her heart.