Shloka 4.53.18
स्वयम्प्रभा-विमोचनम् — Svayamprabha Leads the Vanaras Out (Time-Limit Crisis and Counsel)
ते वसन्तमनुप्राप्तं प्रतिबुद्ध्वा परस्परम्।नष्टसन्देशकालार्था निपेतुर्धरणीतले।।।।
te vasantam anuprāptaṃ pratibuddhvā parasparam |
naṣṭasandeśakālārthā nipetur dharaṇītale ||
Realizing among themselves that spring had arrived and that the appointed time for reporting had been lost, they fell prostrate upon the earth.
Having realised (looking at the flowers) that spring has set in and they have exceeded the time limit, they all fell down on the ground.
Dharma includes remorse and recognition of failure: admitting a lapse is ethically superior to denial, and it prepares one for corrective action.
The vānaras conclude that the season has changed and thus the mission’s time limit has been exceeded; despair overwhelms them.
Truthfulness to circumstances (satya-buddhi)—they accept the fact of delay, even though it is painful.