Shloka 5.56.10
षट्पञ्चाशः सर्गः — वैदेही-आश्वासनम् तथा अरिष्टारोहणम् (Consoling Sita and Ascending Mount Arishta)
तुङ्गपद्मकजुष्टाभिर्नीलाभिर्वनराजिभिः।सोत्तरीयमिवाम्भोदैः शृंगान्तरविलम्बिभिः।।।।
tuṅgapadmakajuṣṭābhir nīlābhir vanarājibhiḥ | sottarīyam ivāmbhodaiḥ śṛṅgāntaravilambibhiḥ ||
With dark bands of forest filled with tall padmaka trees, and rain-clouds hanging between its peaks, Mount Ariṣṭa appeared as though draped in an upper garment.
Mount Arishta was full of blue forest-ranges with choicest tall padmaka trees. With clouds hanging on the slopes of mountain peaks, it appeared as though the mountain was wrapped in an upper garment.
Indirectly, the verse supports dharmic storytelling by using nature imagery to steady the narrative mood—suggesting order, harmony, and the world’s grandeur as a backdrop to righteous effort.
The poet describes Mount Ariṣṭa in vivid imagery as part of the scene-setting in Sundarakāṇḍa.
Not character-centered; the emphasis is on poetic perception (kāvya-dṛṣṭi) that enriches the epic’s moral-narrative world.