Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 53: Sītā Chastises Rāvaṇa
Text 3.53.9
धिक्ते शौर्यं च सत्त्वं च यत्त्वं कथितवांस्तदा।
कुलाक्रोशकरं लोके धिक्ते चारित्रमीदृशम्॥
dhik te śauryaṁ ca sattvaṁ ca yat tvaṁ kathitavāṁs tadā
kulākrośakaraṁ loke dhik te cāritram īdṛśam
dhik = fie upon; te = your; śauryam ca = valor; sattvam = strength; ca = and; yat = that; tvam = you; kathitavān = had spoken; tadā = then; kula-ākrośa-karam = which will bring about blasphemy of [your] dynasty; loke = in the world; dhik = fie upon; te = of yours; cāritram = the activity; īdṛśam = like this.
Fie upon your valor and strength that you had spoken about then! Fie upon the activity of yours like this, which will bring about blasphemy of [your] dynasty in the world!
1 The quote is from Rāmāyaṇa 3.49.3.
“Fie upon your valor and strength that you had spoken about then” means “Fie upon your valor and strength that you had spoken about when you took me.” In other words, Sītā-devī states that statements such as udvaheyaṁ bhujābhyāṁ tu medinīm ambare sthitaḥ, “I can stand in the sky and lift up the earth with my two hands,” were useless false talk.1