Shloka 3.46.16
रावणस्य परिव्राजकवेषेण सीतासमीपगमनम् (Ravana Approaches Sita Disguised as a Mendicant)
ह्रीः कीर्तिः श्रीश्शुभा लक्ष्मीरप्सरा वा शुभानने।।।।भूतिर्वा त्वं वरारोहे रतिर्वा स्वैरचारिणी।
hrīḥ kīrtiḥ śrīḥ śubhā lakṣmīr apsarā vā śubhānane | bhūtir vā tvaṃ varārohe ratir vā svairacāriṇī || 3.46.16 ||
O fair-faced one of lovely limbs—are you modesty itself, Hrī, or Fame, Kīrti, or auspicious Śrī/Lakṣmī, or an apsaras? Are you Bhūti, or perhaps Rati who moves at will?
O lady with a beautiful face, with lovely thighs, are you 'hri', shyness personified? Are you the auspicious lovely Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth? Are you the goddess of fame? Are you an apsara? Are you Bhuti, the goddess of fortune? Or are you Rati, the goddess of love moving at your free will ?
It shows how adharma employs exaggerated praise to blur truth; Dharma values satya and clarity—identity and intention should not be obscured by seductive rhetoric.
Rāvaṇa continues his verbal enticement, comparing Sītā to divine personifications and celestial beings.
Sītā’s elevated, ‘goddess-like’ qualities are acknowledged even by an enemy—foreshadowing her steadfast moral strength.