Shloka 14
सीता-रावण-संवादः
Sītā–Rāvaṇa Dialogue in the Aśoka Grove
गच्छ जानीहि सौम्येमां कस्य वात्र कुतो5पि वा । किमर्थमागता सुभ्रूरिदं कण्टकितं वनम्,'सौम्य! जाओ, पता लगाओ, यह किसकी स्त्री है और कहाँसे इस वनमें आयी है? यह सुन्दर भौंहोंवाली युवती काँटोंसे भरे हुए इस जंगलमें किसलिये आयी है?
gaccha jānīhi saumya imāṁ kasya vātra kuto 'pi vā | kimartham āgatā subhrūḥ idaṁ kaṇṭakitaṁ vanam ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「行け、親しき者よ。これが誰の妻で、どこから来たのかを確かめよ。なぜこの美しい眉の女は、棘に満ちたこの森へ入って来たのか。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic impulse toward responsible inquiry: before acting, one should ascertain identity, origin, and purpose—especially when encountering a vulnerable person in a dangerous place—so that protection and assistance can be offered appropriately.
A messenger or attendant is instructed to go and investigate a woman found in a thorn-filled forest—whose wife she is, where she has come from, and why she has entered such a perilous wilderness—setting up the next narrative development.