Shloka 37
रावणान्तःपुरे शयनदर्शनम्
Hanumān Observes Rāvaṇa’s Inner Apartments and Sleeping Court
काचिद्वीणां परिष्वज्य प्रसुप्ता सम्प्रकाशते।महानदीप्रकीर्णेव नलिनी पोतमाश्रिता।।।।
kācid vīṇāṃ pariṣvajya prasuptā samprakāśate |
mahānadīprakīrṇeva nalinī potam āśritā ||
ഒരു സ്ത്രീ വീണയെ ആലിംഗനം ചെയ്തുകൊണ്ട് ഉറങ്ങുകയായിരുന്നു; മഹാനദിയിൽ പടർന്ന നളിനി ഒരു പടവിനെ ആശ്രയിച്ച് തിളങ്ങുന്നതുപോലെ അവൾ ദീപ്തയായി തോന്നി।
Another woman slept hugging her veena. She shone like a lotus plant flung in a large river, clinging on to a boat. (Veena is compared to a boat and the woman to a lotus-plant in the ambience of flowing waters of the river. The entire hall had put up such a dynamic view showing hectic life of the inmates).
FAQs
The verse indirectly highlights restraint and right conduct: Hanumān is in a morally sensitive space yet remains disciplined, observing without violating propriety—an application of dharma through self-control.
During his search in Laṅkā, Hanumān sees women of the inner quarters asleep after revelry, one embracing a vīṇā; the poet uses a river-and-lotus simile to depict the scene.
Hanumān’s steadiness (dhairya) and continence (saṃyama) are emphasized by the broader passage: he witnesses intimate domestic details but keeps his mission-focused and ethically guarded.