Shloka 5.34.20
सीताहनूमद्भाषणम् — Sita Tests the Messenger; Hanuman Offers Reassurance
अहो स्वप्नस्य सुखता याहमेवं चिराहृता।।।।प्रेषितं नाम पश्यामि राघवेण वनौकसम्।
aho svapnasya sukhatā yāham evaṃ cirāhṛtā | preṣitaṃ nāma paśyāmi rāghaveṇa vanaukasam ||
Ah, how sweet this dream is—that after so long I seem to behold a forest-dwelling vanara, said to have been sent by Rāghava.
"Oh! I have been seeing the person sent by Rama in my dream for a long time. This is a pleasant dream to me.
Dharma here is the struggle to hold to satya amid trauma: Sītā’s mind, long oppressed, hesitates to accept good news without certainty.
Sītā, shocked by sudden hope, suspects her experience may be a dream—an emotional defense after prolonged suffering in Laṅkā.
Sītā’s endurance (kṣamā/dhairya): even hope is approached cautiously because she has borne grief for so long.