Shloka 16
सीताहनूमद्भाषणम्
Sita Tests the Messenger; Hanuman Offers Reassurance
उपवासकृशां दीनां कामरूप निशाचर।सन्तापयसि मां भूयस्सन्तप्तां तन्न शोभनम्।।।।
upavāsa-kṛśāṃ dīnāṃ kāma-rūpa niśācara |
santāpayasi māṃ bhūyaḥ santaptāṃ tan na śobhanam ||
उपवासकृशां दीनां शोकसन्तप्तां मां, कामरूप निशाचर, भूयः सन्तापयसि—तन्न शोभनम्।
"Oh! you are one who can assume any form at will. You are a night-stalker. It is not good for you to cause pain to me who is already emaciated through fasting, who is pitiable and who is already afflicted.
FAQs
The verse condemns cruelty toward the vulnerable; dharma demands restraint and compassion, not repeated harassment of one already suffering.
Sītā, weakened by fasting and sorrow, rebukes the visitor for intensifying her pain, suspecting him to be a shape-shifting aggressor.
Sītā’s moral courage and insistence on propriety—she names adharma as adharma despite her weakness.