Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 30: Rāma Allows Sītā to Follow Him to the Forest
Text 2.30.21
इमं हि सहितुं शोकं मुहूर्तमपि नोत्सहे।
किं पुनर्दश वर्षाणि त्रीणि चैकं च दुःखिता॥
imaṁ hi sahituṁ śokaṁ muhūrtam api notsahe
kiṁ punar daśa varṣāṇi trīṇi caikaṁ ca duḥkhitā
imam hi = this; sahitum = tolerate; śokam = misery; muhūrtam = for a moment; api na utsahe = I cannot even; kim punaḥ = what to speak of; daśa = ten; varṣāṇi = years; trīṇi = three years; ca = and then; ekam = one year; ca = and then; duḥkhitā = distressed [by Your separation].
Distressed [by Your separation], I cannot even tolerate this misery for a moment, what to speak of ten years and then three years and then one year?
In the beginning she has to tolerate ten years, then in the middle three years and then finally one year. For a [beloved] wife [separated from her husband], these durations appear equal [in distress]. To point this out, she has divided [the period of fourteen years thus].