Shloka 24
सप्तदशः सर्गः
Hanuman Beholds Sita in the Ashoka Grove
सीतां भर्तृवशे युक्तामयुक्तां राक्षसीवशे।।5.17.23।।अशोकवनिकामथ्ये शोकसागरमाप्लुताम्।ताभिः परिवृतां तत्र सग्रहामिव रोहिणीम्।।5.17.24।।ददर्श हनुमान् देवीं लतामकुसुमामिव।
aśokavanikāmadhye śokasāgaram āplutām | tābhiḥ parivṛtāṃ tatra sagrahām iva rohiṇīm || 5.17.24 || dadarśa hanumān devīṃ latām akusumām iva |
അശോകവനികയുടെ നടുവിൽ ശോകസാഗരത്തിൽ മുങ്ങി, അവിടെ ആ സ്ത്രീകളാൽ ചുറ്റപ്പെട്ട ദേവി സീതയെ ഹനുമാൻ കണ്ടു—ദുഷ്ടഗ്രഹങ്ങൾ വളഞ്ഞ റോഹിണിപോലെയും, പുഷ്പമില്ലാത്ത ലതപോലെയും.
Even though she was daubed with dirt, and had no ornaments on her, she looked bright like a lotus fibre smeared with mud.
FAQs
Dharma is shown through the condemnation of coercive confinement and the honoring of Sītā’s inner purity: even when surrounded by hostile forces, her moral integrity remains, like an unbloomed creeper awaiting its rightful season.
Hanumān finally locates Sītā within the Aśoka grove and observes both her sorrow and the oppressive surveillance by rākṣasī attendants.
Sītā’s endurance and unwavering truthfulness (satya-niṣṭhā) amid suffering; Hanumān’s compassionate perception is also foregrounded.