Shloka 3.52.19
सीताहरण-विलापः / The Lament at Jatāyu and the Abduction of Sītā
बभूव जलदं नीलं भित्त्वा चन्द्र इवोदितः।सुललाटं सुकेशान्तं पद्मगर्भाभमव्रणम्।।।।शुक्लैस्सुविमलैर्दन्तै प्रभावद्भिरलङ्कृतम्।तस्यास्तद्विमलं वक्त्रमाकाशे रावणाङ्कगम्।।।।रुदितं व्यपमृष्टास्रं चन्द्रवत्प्रियदर्शनम्।सुनासं चारुताम्रोष्ठमाकाशे हाटकप्रभम्।।।।
babhūva jaladaṃ nīlaṃ bhittvā candra ivoditaḥ |
sulalāṭaṃ sukeśāntaṃ padmagarbhābham avraṇam ||
śuklaiḥ suvimalaḥ dantaiḥ prabhāvadbhir alaṅkṛtam |
tasyās tad vimalaṃ vaktram ākāśe rāvaṇāṅkagam ||
ruditaṃ vyapamṛṣṭāsraṃ candravat priyadarśanam |
sunāsaṃ cārutāmrōṣṭham ākāśe hāṭakaprabham ||
Her pure face—smooth-browed, framed by lovely hair, spotless and radiant like the heart of a lotus, adorned with bright, clean white teeth—rested aloft in the sky upon Rāvaṇa’s lap. Though she wept and wiped away her tears, it remained pleasing like the moon, as if the moon had risen by breaking through a dark rain-cloud. With a fine nose and lovely copper-red lips, it gleamed in the sky with a golden luster.
Sita's face looked beautiful with her smooth forehead, shining hair and spotless complexion like the inside of a lotus, with clean, white, shining teeth, a nice nose and lovely red lips. She was continuously weeping and wiping her tears. Her face which was pleasing like the Moon on the lap of Ravana appeared as though the Moon was rising through dark clouds.
Dharma is portrayed as an inner radiance that persists even when oppressed. The moon-through-cloud imagery suggests that truth and purity can be obscured by adharma but not extinguished.
While being carried away in the sky, Sītā weeps; the poet lingers on her face and compares its beauty—despite tears and captivity—to the moon emerging from dark clouds.
Sītā’s steadfast purity and emotional sincerity: she grieves openly yet remains intrinsically radiant, reinforcing her role as a dharmic ideal.