Shloka 5.56.14
षट्पञ्चाशः सर्गः — वैदेही-आश्वासनम् तथा अरिष्टारोहणम् (Consoling Sita and Ascending Mount Arishta)
वेपमानमिव श्यामैः कम्पमानैश्शरद्वनैः।वेणुभिर्मारुतोद्धूतैः कूजन्तमिव कीचकैः।।।।
vepamānam iva śyāmaiḥ kampamānaiś śarad-vanaiḥ |
veṇubhir mārutoddhūtaiḥ kūjantam iva kīcakaiḥ ||
With dark, quivering autumn clouds, the mountain seemed to tremble; and with bamboos shaken by the wind—like chirping kīcaka reeds—it seemed to warble with living sound.
The mountain appeared as if trembling with the dark clouds of autumn. The shrill sounds pasing through the hollow bamboos filled with air appeared as if it was producing sweet musical notes.
Dharma includes inner steadiness amid movement and change. The trembling mountain imagery, paired with harmonious sound, suggests that even amid disturbance one can retain order—an ethical ideal reflected in disciplined action.
A poetic interlude describing the landscape’s motion and sound as the story transitions within Sundarakāṇḍa 56.
Composure (śama) suggested by turning natural agitation into ‘music’—a metaphor for transforming adversity into purposeful harmony.