Shloka 9
सीताव्यथा
वर्णनम् / Sītā’s Distress and Rāvaṇa’s Attempt at Coercive Allurement
वेष्टमानां तथाऽविष्टां पन्नगेन्द्रवधूमिव।धूप्यमानां ग्रहेणेव रोहिणीं धूमकेतुना।।।।
veṣṭamānāṃ tathā''viṣṭāṃ pannagendravadhūm iva |
dhūpyamānāṃ graheṇeva rohiṇīṃ dhūmaketunā ||
So sitzend, eng umschlungen und gleichsam von ihrem Kummer ergriffen, glich sie der Gemahlin des Schlangenkönigs, die sich in sich selbst zusammenringelt; wie Rohiṇī, als wäre sie von einem unheilvollen Gestirn, einem Kometen, verhüllt und in Rauch gehüllt.
Sitting in that manner she resembled a coiled serpent queen, the star Rohini overshadowed by a smoking comet (that is Ravana).
FAQs
The verse highlights how adharma (coercion and unlawful possession) darkens and diminishes what is pure; Sītā’s steadfastness implies dharma as inner integrity even when externally oppressed.
Hanumān, hidden in Laṅkā, looks upon Sītā in Aśoka-vana and sees her overwhelmed by grief and confinement, expressed through ominous celestial similes.
Sītā’s satya and śīla (truthfulness and moral purity): though ‘overshadowed,’ she remains the same luminous person, not consenting inwardly to wrongdoing.