Shloka 28
अशोकवनिकायां सीतादर्शनम्
Sita Seen in the Ashoka Grove
पूर्णचन्द्राननां सुभ्रूं चारुवृत्तपयोधराम्।।।।कुर्वतीं प्रभयादेवीं सर्वा वितिमिरा दिशः।तां नीलकेशीं बिम्बोष्ठीं सुमध्यां सुप्रतिष्ठिताम्।।।।सीतां पद्मपलाशाक्षीं मन्मथस्य रतिं यथा।
pūrṇacandrānanāṃ subhrūṃ cāruvṛttapayodharām |
kurvatīṃ prabhayā devīṃ sarvā vitimirā diśaḥ |
tāṃ nīlakeśīṃ bimboṣṭhīṃ sumadhyāṃ supratiṣṭhitām |
sītāṃ padmapalāśākṣīṃ manmathasya ratiṃ yathā ||
Sītā—berwajah purnama, beralis indah, berdada bulat menawan—seakan dengan sinarnya menjadikan segala penjuru bebas dari gelap. Berambut hitam, berbibir merah laksana buah bimba, berpinggang ramping dan serasi, bermata bak kelopak daun teratai; ia bagaikan Ratī, kekasih Manmatha.
Her face resembled the full-moon which dispelled the encircling gloom by its radiance. She had a slender waist, beautiful round breasts, shapely eyebrows, red lips, dark hair, and eyes like lotus petals with attractive limbs. She was comparable to Rati, consort of Cupid.
FAQs
The verse frames true nobility as inner radiance aligned with virtue: even when externally distressed, Sītā’s essential dignity and purity—rooted in satya—remain the standard of dharma.
As part of confirming her identity, Sītā’s defining features and former splendor are recalled and described in elevated poetic similes.
Sītā’s innate dignity and auspiciousness: her beauty is presented as inseparable from moral excellence.