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Shloka 29

अशोकवनिकायां सीतादर्शनम्

Sita Seen in the Ashoka Grove

पूर्णचन्द्राननां सुभ्रूं चारुवृत्तपयोधराम्।।5.15.28।।कुर्वतीं प्रभयादेवीं सर्वा वितिमिरा दिशः।तां नीलकेशीं बिम्बोष्ठीं सुमध्यां सुप्रतिष्ठिताम्।।5.15.29।।सीतां पद्मपलाशाक्षीं मन्मथस्य रतिं यथा।

pūrṇacandrānanāṃ subhrūṃ cāruvṛttapayodharām |

kurvatīṃ prabhayā devīṃ sarvā vitimirā diśaḥ |

tāṃ nīlakeśīṃ bimboṣṭhīṃ sumadhyāṃ supratiṣṭhitām |

sītāṃ padmapalāśākṣīṃ manmathasya ratiṃ yathā ||

Sītā, mit Antlitz wie der volle Mond, mit schönen Brauen und anmutig gerundeter Brust, ließ durch ihren Glanz alle Himmelsrichtungen ohne Dunkel werden. Mit schwarzem Haar, Lippen rot wie die Bimba-Frucht, schlanker Mitte und würdig gefestigter Haltung, mit Augen wie Lotusblätter, war sie wie Rati, die Geliebte Manmathas.

tāmher
tām:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormStrīliṅga, Dvitīyā, ekavacana
nīla-keśīmdark-haired
nīla-keśīm:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootnīla (प्रातिपदिक) + keśinī/keśī (प्रातिपदिक)
FormStrīliṅga, Dvitīyā, ekavacana; bahuvrīhi: "she whose hair is dark"
bimba-oṣṭhīmbimba-lipped
bimba-oṣṭhīm:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootbimba (प्रातिपदिक) + oṣṭhī (प्रातिपदिक)
FormStrīliṅga, Dvitīyā, ekavacana; bahuvrīhi: "she whose lips are like bimba-fruit"
su-madhyāmslender-waisted
su-madhyām:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootsu (उपसर्ग) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormStrīliṅga, Dvitīyā, ekavacana; bahuvrīhi: "she whose waist/middle is slender"
su-pratiṣṭhitāmwell-formed/well-set
su-pratiṣṭhitām:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootsu (उपसर्ग) + pratiṣṭhita (कृदन्त; prati-√sthā, क्त)
FormStrīliṅga, Dvitīyā, ekavacana; upapada-tatpuruṣa: "well-proportioned/well-set"; pratiṣṭhita = kta participle
sītāmSītā
sītām:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootsītā (प्रातिपदिक)
FormStrīliṅga, Dvitīyā, ekavacana
padma-palāśa-akṣīmlotus-petal-eyed
padma-palāśa-akṣīm:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeAdjective
Rootpadma (प्रातिपदिक) + palāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
FormStrīliṅga, Dvitīyā, ekavacana; bahuvrīhi: "she whose eyes are like lotus-petals"
manmathasyaof Manmatha (Cupid)
manmathasya:
Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeNoun
Rootmanmatha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, ekavacana
ratimRati
ratim:
Upamāna (उपमान)
TypeNoun
Rootrati (प्रातिपदिक)
FormStrīliṅga, Dvitīyā, ekavacana
yathāas/like
yathā:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध; upamā-marker)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootyathā (अव्यय)
FormUpamā-vācaka avyaya (comparative adverb)

Her face resembled the fullmoon which dispelled the encircling gloom by its radiance. She had a slender waist, beautiful round breasts, shapely eyebrows, red lips, dark hair, and eyes like lotus petals with attractive limbs. She was comparable to Rati, consort of Cupid.

S
Sītā
M
Manmatha

FAQs

As a repeated/segmented descriptive unit, it reinforces the theme that virtue and truth confer an enduring dignity that adversity cannot erase.

The manuscript tradition represented here preserves the descriptive passage across verse indices, continuing the identification-by-description of Sītā.

Sītā’s auspicious presence and moral beauty, recalled as part of Hanumān’s confirmation.