Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 30: Rāma Allows Sītā to Follow Him to the Forest
Text 2.30.1
सान्त्व्यमाना तु रामेण मैथिली जनकात्मजा।
वनवासनिमित्ताय भर्तारमिदमब्रवीत्॥
sāntvyamānā tu rāmeṇa maithilī janakātmajā
vana-vāsa-nimittāya bhartāram idam abravīt
sāntvyamānā tu = when was consoled; rāmeṇa = by Śrī Rāma; maithilī = Maithilī; janaka-ātmajā = Janaka’s daughter; vana-vāsa-nimittāya = to explain why she should reside in the forest [with Him]; bhartāram = to her husband; idam = the following; abravīt = she spoke.
When Janaka’s daughter Maithilī was consoled by Śrī Rāma, she spoke the following to her husband to explain why she should reside in the forest [with Him].
Sītā-devī is referred to here as Janakātmajā (“Janaka’s daughter”) to underscore the fact that her behavior was appropriate to her dynasty.
GLOSS. [The glossator reads vana-vāsa-nimittārtham instead of vana-vāsa-nimittāya indicating that] Sītā had a purpose in residing in the forest—to have Rāvaṇa killed—which could not happen unless she resides in the forest [with Rāma].