Ramayana — Sundara Kanda, Sarga 32, Shloka 14
Sundarakāṇḍa Sarga 32
Sītā’s Perplexity and Recognition of Hanumān
नमोऽस्तु वाचस्पतये सवज्रिणे स्वयंभुवे चैव हुताशनाय च।अनेन चोक्तं यदिदं ममाग्रतो वनौकसा तच्छ तथास्तु नान्यथा।।।।
namo ’stu vācaspataye savajriṇe svayaṁbhuve caiva hutāśanāya ca |
anena coktaṁ yad idaṁ mamāgrato vanaukasā tac ca tathāstu nānyathā ||
Salutations be to Bṛhaspati, to Indra the wielder of the thunderbolt, to self-born Brahmā, and to Agni. May what has been spoken here before me by this forest-dweller be true—so it be, and not otherwise.
Looking here and there, she saw a monkey with a large, curved face, an obedient servant and a minister of the monkey-lord, the foremost among the intelligentia and the son of the Wind-god.
FAQs
Satya is explicitly central: Sītā prays that the messenger’s words be true, aligning hope with divine witness and moral truth rather than mere emotion.
After doubting her perceptions, Sītā turns to prayer, invoking deities connected with speech, authority, creation, and sacred fire, asking that Hanumān’s message be सत्य.
Sītā’s reverence and integrity—her hope is disciplined by prayer for truth.