रावणान्तःपुरे शयनदर्शनम् (Hanumān Observes Rāvaṇa’s Inner Apartments and Sleeping Court)
मुक्तामणिविचित्रेण काञ्चनेन विराजितम्।मकुटेनापवृत्तेन कुण्डलोज्वलिताननम्।।।।रक्तचन्दनदिग्धेन तथा हारेण शोभिना।पीनायतविशालेन वक्षसाऽभिविराजितम्।।।।पाण्डरेणापविद्धेन क्षौमेण क्षतजेक्षणम्।महार्हेण सुसंवीतं पीतेनोत्तमवाससा।।।।माषराशिप्रतीकाशं निश्श्वसन्तं भुजङ्गवत्।गाङ्गे महति तोयान्ते प्रसुप्तमिव कुञ्जरम्।।।।चतुर्भिः काञ्चनैर्दीपैद्धीप्यमानचतुर्दिशम्।प्रकाशीकृतसर्वाङ्गं मेघं विद्युद्गणैरिव।।।।पादमूलगताश्चापि ददर्श सुमहात्मनः।पत्नी: स प्रियभार्यस्य तस्य रक्षःपतेर्गृहे।।।।
muktāmaṇivicitreṇa kāñcanena virājitam |
makuṭenāpavṛttena kuṇḍalojvalitānanam ||
raktacandanadigdhena tathā hāreṇa śobhinā |
pīnāyataviśālena vakṣasā 'bhivirājitam ||
pāṇḍareṇāpaviddhena kṣaumeṇa kṣatajekṣaṇam |
mahārheṇa susaṃvītaṃ pītenottamavāsasā ||
māṣarāśipratīkāśaṃ niśśvasantaṃ bhujaṅgavat |
gāṅge mahati toyānte prasuptam iva kuñjaram ||
caturbhiḥ kāñcanair dīpair dīpyamānacaturdiśam |
prakāśīkṛtasarvāṅgaṃ meghaṃ vidyudgaṇair iva ||
pādamūlagatāś cāpi dadarśa sumahātmanaḥ |
patnīḥ sa priyabhāryasya tasya rakṣaḥpater gṛhe ||
Hanumān saw Rāvaṇa in his palace—glittering with gold, adorned with pearls and gems. His crown had slipped aside, and his face shone with earrings. Smeared with red sandal paste and graced with a splendid necklace, his broad, fleshy chest gleamed. His eyes were blood-red; a white linen cloth had fallen slightly out of place, yet he was well covered with a costly yellow upper garment. Dark as a heap of black gram, he breathed heavily like a serpent, sleeping like an elephant on the bank of the great Gaṅgā. Four golden lamps blazed around him, lighting the four directions; his whole body was illumined, like a cloud streaked with flashes of lightning. Hanumān also saw the beloved wives of that great lord of the rākṣasas, lying at his feet within his house.
Hanuman saw Ravana, whose face was lit up by his ear-rings. His shining head-gear studded with gold and pearls was set aside. His fleshy, broad chest on which the pearl necklace had slightly receded from its position(as he was asleep) was shining along with the red sandal paste. He had put on a splendid white silken cloth which had also slipped a little and was covered with exquisitely rich yellow upper garment. His eyes were blood-red. His body was comparable to a heap of blackbeans. He was sighing heavily like a hissing snake. He appeared like an elephant sleeping on the banks of the great river Ganges. With four golden lamps glowing on four sides of the bed,the four directions were illuminated. All his limbs lit up bright (with the glow of lamps), he looked like a cloud with streaks of lightning. His dear wives were seen resting at his feet in the palace of the lord of demons.
Hanumān acts according to his mission and maryādā: he is in Laṅkā to find Sītā and gather intelligence, not to initiate a personal act of violence that could endanger the larger dharmic objective.
The verse presents an unembellished, detailed observation of Rāvaṇa’s state—his ornaments, posture, and surroundings—serving narrative truthfulness (satya) that grounds later ethical judgments in witnessed reality rather than rumor.