Shloka 5.16.32
षोडशः सर्गः (Sarga 16): Hanumān’s Recognition of Sītā and Renewed Lament
इत्येवमर्थं कपिरन्ववेक्ष्य सीतेयमित्येव निविष्टबुद्धि:।संश्रित्य तस्मिन्निषसाद वृक्षे बली हरीणामृषभस्तरस्वी।।5.16.32।।
himahatanalinīva naṣṭaśobhā vyasanaparamparayā nipīḍyamānā |
sahacararahiteva cakravākī janakasutā kṛpaṇāṃ daśāṃ prapannā ||5.16.30||
Her beauty faded like a lotus struck by frost, crushed by a succession of misfortunes; like a female cakravāka bereft of her mate, Janaka’s daughter has fallen into a pitiable state.
Hanuman, the swift-footed bull among monkeys, on his part waiting on the Simsupa tree thus reflecting concluded in his mind that she was Sita.ityārṣē śrīmadrāmāyaṇē vālmīkīya ādikāvyē sundarakāṇḍē ṣōḍaśassargaḥ.Thus ends the sixteenth sarga of Sundarakanda of the holy Ramayana, the first epic composed by sage Valmiki.
The verse evokes moral urgency: when the innocent are crushed by repeated calamities, dharma demands compassionate intervention and restoration of justice.
Hanuman poetically describes Sītā’s diminished radiance and loneliness in captivity, emphasizing the pain of separation from Rāma.
Sītā’s steadfast love and endurance in separation, alongside Hanuman’s compassionate perception.