Shloka 20

सीताया रावणनिन्दा — अशोकवनिकाप्रवेशः

Sita’s Rebuke of Ravana; Removal to the Ashoka Grove

Devanagari script

क्रीडन्ती राजहंसेन पद्मषण्डेषु नित्यदा।हंसी सा तृणषण्डस्थं कथं पश्येत मद्गुकम्।।।।

Transliteration

krīḍantī rājahaṃsena padmaṣaṇḍeṣu nityadā | haṃsī sā tṛṇaṣaṇḍasthaṃ kathaṃ paśyeta madgukam ||

Translation

蓮の群れの中で常に王なる白鳥と戯れる雌白鳥が、草むらにとまるマドグカ鳥など、どうして目に留めようか。

Word by Word

• krīḍantī: sporting
• krīḍantī: Karta (कर्ता; participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with ‘haṃsī’

• rājahaṃsena: with a royal swan
• rājahaṃsena: Sahakari/Karana (सहकारी/करण-Instrument/Companion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja-haṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; karmadhāraya ‘royal swan’

• padmaṣaṇḍeṣu: in lotus-groves/ponds
• padmaṣaṇḍeṣu: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma-ṣaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; tatpuruṣa: padma (lotus) + ṣaṇḍa (cluster/grove)

• nityadā: always
• nityadā: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nityadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (always)

• haṃsī: a female swan
• haṃsī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haṃsī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sā: that
• sā: Visheshana (विशेषण of ‘haṃsī’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• tṛṇaṣaṇḍastham: situated in grass-clumps
• tṛṇaṣaṇḍastham: Visheshana (विशेषण of ‘madgukam’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛṇa-ṣaṇḍa-stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; tatpuruṣa: tṛṇa (grass) + ṣaṇḍa (clump) + stha (standing) = ‘situated in a clump of grass’; qualifies ‘madgukam’

• kathaṃ: how
• kathaṃ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kathaṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• paśyet: could see
• paśyet: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• madgukam: a watercrow
• madgukam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madguka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Context

Rama is a son of the renowned king Dasaratha, who was a firm ambankment (protector) of righteousness and was true to his promise.

Characters & Entities

• Sītā
• Rāvaṇa
• padma (lotus)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Dharma includes discernment in association: the noble do not consent to the base. Moral incompatibility is expressed through poetic analogy.

What is the narrative situation?

Sītā rejects any possibility of accepting Rāvaṇa, contrasting Rāma’s nobility with Rāvaṇa’s baseness.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Sītā’s unwavering loyalty and refined moral discrimination.