Shloka 2.39.18
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — Dasaratha’s Lament, Sumantra’s Commission, and Sita’s Vow of Marital Dharma
व्यराजयत वैदेही वेश्म तत्सुविभूषिता।उद्यतोंऽशुमतः काले खं प्रभेव विवस्वतः।।2.39.18।।
vyarājayata vaidehī veśma tat suvibhūṣitā | udyatoṃśumataḥ kāle khaṃ prabheva vivasvataḥ || 2.39.18 ||
Vaidehī, richly adorned, made that palace shine—like the sky at dawn, lit by the radiance of the rising sun.
Well-adorned Sita illumined the palace like the rising Sun lighting up the sky at dawn.
Inner purity and steadfast dharma are portrayed as radiance: Sītā’s moral stature is mirrored outwardly as light and auspicious beauty, even on the brink of hardship.
As Sītā prepares for exile, the narrator describes her splendor in the palace through a dawn-and-sun simile.
Sītā’s auspicious presence and dignified composure—radiance that arises from character, not comfort.