Shloka 24
सप्तदशः सर्गः
Hanuman Beholds Sita in the Ashoka Grove
सीतां भर्तृवशे युक्तामयुक्तां राक्षसीवशे।।5.17.23।।अशोकवनिकामथ्ये शोकसागरमाप्लुताम्।ताभिः परिवृतां तत्र सग्रहामिव रोहिणीम्।।5.17.24।।ददर्श हनुमान् देवीं लतामकुसुमामिव।
aśokavanikāmadhye śokasāgaram āplutām | tābhiḥ parivṛtāṃ tatra sagrahām iva rohiṇīm || 5.17.24 || dadarśa hanumān devīṃ latām akusumām iva |
In the midst of the Aśoka grove, Hanumān saw the noble lady Sītā—drowned in an ocean of grief, surrounded there by those women—like Rohiṇī hemmed in by baleful planets, like a creeper without blossoms.
Even though she was daubed with dirt, and had no ornaments on her, she looked bright like a lotus fibre smeared with mud.
FAQs
Dharma is shown through the condemnation of coercive confinement and the honoring of Sītā’s inner purity: even when surrounded by hostile forces, her moral integrity remains, like an unbloomed creeper awaiting its rightful season.
Hanumān finally locates Sītā within the Aśoka grove and observes both her sorrow and the oppressive surveillance by rākṣasī attendants.
Sītā’s endurance and unwavering truthfulness (satya-niṣṭhā) amid suffering; Hanumān’s compassionate perception is also foregrounded.