Shloka 3
रामस्य सुग्रीवप्रति रोषः — हनूमता सीतादर्शनवृत्तान्तः
Rāma’s Reproach of Sugrīva; Hanūmān’s Report of Seeing Sītā
वपुष्मती वोरगराजकन्या वनेचरी वा क्षणदाचरस्त्री यद्येव राज्ञो वरुणस्य पत्नी यमस्य सोमस्य धनेश्वरस्य,क्या तुम दिव्यरूप धारण करनेवाली नागराजकुमारी हो अथवा वनमें विचरनेवाली किसी राक्षसकी पत्नी हो अथवा राजा वरुण, यमराज, चन्द्रमा एवं धनाध्यक्ष कुबेर-- इनमेंसे किसीकी पत्नी हो?
vapuṣmatī voragarājakanyā vane-carī vā kṣaṇadācarastrī yadyeva rājño varuṇasya patnī yamasya somasya dhaneśvarasya
Koṭika said: “Are you a radiant maiden, a princess of the serpent-king? Or are you a woman who roams the forest, the wife of some night-ranging rākṣasa? Or are you the consort of one among the great rulers—Varuṇa, Yama, Soma, or Kubera, lord of wealth?”
कोटिक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary beauty and presence evoke questions of identity and status, reflecting the epic’s worldview where humans, nāgas, rākṣasas, and devas intersect; it also suggests a social-ethical impulse to recognize and address beings according to their true station.
Koṭika addresses a mysterious, radiant woman encountered in the forest and tries to identify her by proposing possibilities—from a nāga princess to a rākṣasa’s wife, or even the consort of major cosmic rulers (Varuṇa, Yama, Soma, Kubera).