Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 26: Rāma Meets Sītā and Instructs Her
Text 2.26.26
नापि त्वं तेन भर्तव्या विशेषेण कदाचन।
अनुकूलतया शक्यं समीपे त्वस्य वर्तितुम्॥
nāpi tvaṁ tena bhartavyā viśeṣeṇa kadācana
anukūlatayā śakyaṁ samīpe tv asya vartitum
na api tvam = don’t; tena = by Bharata; bhartavyā = seek to be maintained; viśeṣeṇa = as a special person; kadācana = ever; anukūlatayā = in a favorable mood; śakyam = it is possible; samīpe tu = in presence; asya = His; vartitum = to live.
Don’t ever seek to be maintained by Bharata as a special person. It is possible to live in His presence in a favorable mood.1
Sītā can seek to be maintained as a relative in general. Śrī Rāma implies that Sītā should not hanker to make her maintenance in the form of her eating and so on to be special [in comparison to that of] the wives of Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna.1 “It is possible to live in a favorable mood” means “It is appropriate to live as a relative.”