Shloka 5.32.7
Sundarakāṇḍa Sarga 32 — Sītā’s Perplexity and Recognition of Hanumān
सा वीक्षमाणा पृथुभुग्नवक्त्रं शाखामृगेन्द्रस्य यथोक्तकारम्।ददर्श पिङ्गाधिपते रमात्यं वातात्मजं बुद्धिमतां वरिष्ठम्।।।।
namo ’stu vācaspataye savajriṇe svayaṁbhuve caiva hutāśanāya ca |
anena coktaṁ yad idaṁ mamāgrato vanaukasā tac ca tathāstu nānyathā ||
Salutations to Bṛhaspati, lord of speech; to Indra, wielder of the thunderbolt; to self-born Brahmā; and to Agni, the sacred Fire. May what this forest-dweller has spoken before me be true—so be it, and not otherwise.
Looking here and there, she saw a monkey with a large, curved face, an obedient servant and a minister of the monkey-lord, the foremost among the intelligentia and the son of the Wind-god.
Satya is explicitly central: Sītā prays that the messenger’s words be true, aligning hope with divine witness and moral truth rather than mere emotion.
After doubting her perceptions, Sītā turns to prayer, invoking deities connected with speech, authority, creation, and sacred fire, asking that Hanumān’s message be सत्य.
Sītā’s reverence and integrity—her hope is disciplined by prayer for truth.