Shloka 3.52.11
सीताहरण-विलापः / The Lament at Jatāyu and the Abduction of Sītā
प्रहृष्टा व्यथिताश्चासन्सर्वे ते परमर्षयः।।।।दृष्ट्वा सीतां परामृष्टां दण्डकारण्यवासिनः।रावणस्य विनाशं च प्राप्तं बुद्ध्वा यदृच्छया।।।।
prahṛṣṭā vyathitāś cāsan sarve te paramarṣayaḥ |
dṛṣṭvā sītāṃ parāmṛṣṭāṃ daṇḍakāraṇyavāsinaḥ |
rāvaṇasya vināśaṃ ca prāptaṃ buddhvā yadṛcchayā ||
All those great seers dwelling in the Daṇḍaka forest were at once delighted and pained: pained on seeing Sītā seized, yet delighted in knowing—by the course of events—that Rāvaṇa’s destruction had now drawn near.
All the great seers residing in Dandaka forest felt both happy and sad, happy because the destruction of Ravana is at hand and sad because Sita was in distress.
Dharma includes both compassion for the afflicted and confidence that adharma carries the seed of its own downfall. The seers’ mixed emotions show moral sensitivity without losing faith in the ultimate triumph of righteousness.
After Sītā’s abduction, the forest sages perceive the gravity of her suffering and simultaneously recognize that this event signals the approaching end of Rāvaṇa.
The sages’ virtue: karuṇā (compassion) joined with dhārmic discernment—seeing beyond immediate tragedy to the restoration of moral order.