Shloka 3.52.12
सीताहरण-विलापः / The Lament at Jatāyu and the Abduction of Sītā
प्रहृष्टा व्यथिताश्चासन्सर्वे ते परमर्षयः।।3.52.11।।दृष्ट्वा सीतां परामृष्टां दण्डकारण्यवासिनः।रावणस्य विनाशं च प्राप्तं बुद्ध्वा यदृच्छया।।3.52.12।।
prahṛṣṭā vyathitāś cāsan sarve te paramarṣayaḥ |
dṛṣṭvā sītāṃ parāmṛṣṭāṃ daṇḍakāraṇyavāsinaḥ |
rāvaṇasya vināśaṃ ca prāptaṃ buddhvā yadṛcchayā ||
All the great seers of the Daṇḍaka forest felt both joy and anguish—anguish at Sītā’s seizure, and joy in understanding that, as events unfolded, Rāvaṇa’s ruin had come within reach.
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.
Mature dharma-vision holds two truths together: empathy for immediate suffering and certainty that injustice is unsustainable. This is moral realism, not indifference.
The sages witness (or become aware of) Sītā’s abduction and interpret it as the turning point that will lead to Rāvaṇa’s end.
The sages’ balanced judgment: compassion without despair, and hope grounded in the moral law (dharma).