Shloka 5.15.32
अशोकवनिकायां सीतादर्शनम् (Sita Seen in the Ashoka Grove)
संसक्तां धूमजालेन शिखामिव विभावसोः।।।।तां स्मृतीमिव सन्दिग्धामृद्धिं निपतितामिव।
saṃsaktāṃ dhūmajālena śikhām iva vibhāvasaḥ | tāṃ smṛtim iva sandigdhām ṛddhiṃ nipatitām iva ||
She was like a flame obscured by a mesh of smoke—like a memory grown uncertain, like fortune that has fallen away.
She was like the flames of fire obscured by smoke. She appeared like the text of Smriti of doubtful meaning, a treasure that has been thrown away;
Dharma teaches that true worth (tejas, virtue) can be obscured by circumstance but not destroyed; righteous duty is to recognize the inner truth beneath outward ruin.
Hanumān struggles to reconcile Sītā’s famed radiance with the diminished appearance caused by sorrow and neglect.
Sītā’s inherent nobility—her inner radiance remains, though veiled by suffering.