Shloka 37

सीताहरण

विलापः / The Lament at Jatāyu and the Abduction of Sītā

Devanagari script

जलप्रपातास्रमुखाश्शृङ्गैरुच्छ्रितबाहुभिः।सीतायां ह्रियमाणायां विक्रोशन्तीव पर्वताः।।।।

Transliteration

jala-prapātāśru-mukhāḥ śṛṅgair ucchrita-bāhubhiḥ |

sītāyāṃ hriyamāṇāyāṃ vikrośantīva parvatāḥ ||

Translation

เมื่อพระนางสีดาถูกพาไป ภูเขาทั้งหลายประหนึ่งร่ำไห้ ครั้นน้ำตกไหลรินดุจน้ำตา และยอดเขาชูสูงดั่งแขนที่ยกขึ้นวิงวอน

Word by Word

जलप्रपातास्रमुखाःwhose mouths were tears as waterfalls

शृङ्गैःwith peaks

उच्छ्रितबाहुभिःwith arms (cliffs) raised high

सीतायाम्when/while Sītā (was...)

ह्रियमाणायाम्being carried away

विक्रोशन्तिcry out

इवas if

पर्वताःmountains

Context

The mountains were shedding tears in the form of waterfalls, and crying with hands lifted up in the form of peaks, while Sita was being carried away.

Characters & Entities

Sītā

FAQs

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

The verse communicates that adharma disrupts the whole order: the natural world ‘laments,’ implying that injustice is not private but cosmic, calling for restoration through righteous action.

What is the narrative situation?

In the climactic moment of the abduction, the landscape is poetically animated: mountains ‘weep’ through waterfalls as Sītā is taken away.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Sītā’s moral significance and purity—her suffering is depicted as so grave that even the mountains respond in grief.