Sita Among Her Rakshasi Guards

Shloka 1 (sundara.17.1)

ततः कुमुदखण्डाभो निर्मलं निर्मलोदयः । प्रजगाम नभश्चन्द्रो हंसो नीलमिवोदकम् ॥ 17.1 ॥

tataḥ kumudakhaṇḍābho nirmalaṃ nirmalodayaḥ | prajagāma nabhaścandro haṃso nīlam ivodakam ||

Then the moon, white as a cluster of water-lilies, its rising unclouded, moved across the clear sky, like a swan gliding upon dark blue water.

Shloka 2 (sundara.17.2)

साचिव्यमिव कुर्वन् स प्रभया निर्मलप्रभः । चन्द्रमा रश्मिभिः शीतैः सिषेवे पवनात्मजम् ॥ 17.2 ॥

sācivyam iva kurvan sa prabhayā nirmalaprabhaḥ | candramā raśmibhiḥ śītaiḥ siṣeve pavanātmajam ||

That moon of spotless radiance, as though rendering aid with its own brightness, attended upon the son of the wind-god with its cool rays.

Shloka 3 (sundara.17.3)

स ददर्श ततः सीतां पूर्णचन्द्रनिभाननाम् । शोकभारैरिव न्यस्तां भारैर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥ 17.3 ॥

sa dadarśa tataḥ sītāṃ pūrṇacandranibhānanām | śokabhārair iva nyastāṃ bhārair nāvam ivāmbhasi ||

Then he saw Sita, her face like the full moon, weighed down as if by the very burden of grief, like a boat sinking under its load upon the water.

Shloka 4 (sundara.17.4)

दिदृक्षमाणो वैदेहीं हनूमान् मारुतात्मजः । स ददर्शाविदूरस्था राक्षसीर्घोरदर्शनाः ॥ 17.4 ॥

didṛkṣamāṇo vaidehīṃ hanūmān mārutātmajaḥ | sa dadarśāvidūrasthā rākṣasīr ghoradarśanāḥ ||

As Hanuman, son of the wind, gazed intently, longing to behold Vaidehi, he also saw, standing not far off, rakshasis of terrifying appearance.

Shloka 5 (sundara.17.5)

एकाक्षीमेककर्णां च कर्णप्रावरणां तथा । अकर्णां शङ्कुकर्णां च मस्तकोच्छ्वासनासिकाम् ॥ 17.5 ॥

ekākṣīm ekakarṇāṃ ca karṇaprāvaraṇāṃ tathā | akarṇāṃ śaṅkukarṇāṃ ca mastakocchvāsanāsikām ||

Among them were some one-eyed, some one-eared, some whose ears served as a covering, some earless, some with ears like spikes, and some whose nostrils flared up to the crown of the head.

Shloka 6 (sundara.17.6)

अतिकायोत्तमांगीं च तनुदीर्घशिरोधराम् । ध्वस्तकेशीं तथाकेशीं केशकम्बलधारिणीम् ॥ 17.6 ॥

atikāyottamāṅgīṃ ca tanudīrghaśirodharām | dhvastakeśīṃ tathākeśīṃ keśakambaladhāriṇīm ||

Some had heads of monstrous size, some slender and long necks, some had matted, disheveled hair, some none at all, and some wore their own hair like a coarse blanket.

Shloka 7 (sundara.17.7)

लम्बकर्णललाटां च लम्बोदरपयोधराम् । लम्बोष्ठीं चिबुकोष्ठीं च लम्बास्यां लम्बजानुकाम् ॥ 17.7 ॥

lambakarṇalalāṭāṃ ca lambodarapayodharām | lamboṣṭhīṃ cibukoṣṭhīṃ ca lambāsyāṃ lambajānukām ||

Some had drooping ears and foreheads, some sagging bellies and breasts, some hanging lips, some lips stretched down to the chin, some pendulous faces, and some drooping knees.

Shloka 8 (sundara.17.8)

ह्रस्वां दीर्घां च कुब्जां च विकटां वामनां तथा । करालां भुग्नवक्त्रां च पिंगाक्षीं विकृताननाम् ॥ 17.8 ॥

hrasvāṃ dīrghāṃ ca kubjāṃ ca vikaṭāṃ vāmanāṃ tathā | karālāṃ bhugnavaktrāṃ ca piṅgākṣīṃ vikṛtānanām ||

Some were dwarfish, some tall, some hunchbacked, some grotesque, some stunted, some dreadful to behold, some with twisted faces, some tawny-eyed, and some with faces utterly distorted.

Shloka 9 (sundara.17.9)

विकृताः पिंगलाः कालीः क्रोधनाः कलहप्रियाः । कालायसमहाशूलकूटमुद्गरधारिणीः ॥ 17.9 ॥

vikṛtāḥ piṅgalāḥ kālīḥ krodhanāḥ kalahapriyāḥ | kālāyasamahāśūlakūṭamudgaradhāriṇīḥ ||

Deformed, tawny or coal-black in hue, quick to anger and fond of quarrels, they carried great spears, hammers, and clubs of black iron.

Shloka 10 (sundara.17.10)

वराहमृगशार्दूलमहिषाजशिवामुखाः । गजोष्ट्रहयपादाश्च निखातशिरसोऽपराः ॥ 17.10 ॥

varāhamṛgaśārdūlamahiṣājaśivāmukhāḥ | gajoṣṭrahayapādāśca nikhātaśiraso'parāḥ ||

Some had the faces of boars, deer, tigers, buffaloes, goats, and jackals; others had feet like those of elephants, camels, and horses; and still others had heads seemingly sunk deep into their shoulders.

Shloka 11 (sundara.17.11)

एकहस्तैकपादाश्च खरकर्ण्यश्वकर्णिकाः । गोकर्णीर्हस्तिकर्णीश्च हरिकर्णीस्तथापराः ॥ 17.11 ॥

ekahastaikapādāśca kharakarṇyaśvakarṇikāḥ | gokarṇīr hastikarṇīśca harikarṇīs tathāparāḥ ||

Some had but a single hand and a single foot; some had ears like a donkey's, some like a horse's, some like a cow's, some like an elephant's, and yet others like a lion's.

Shloka 12 (sundara.17.12)

अतिनासाश्च काश्चिच्च तिर्यङ्नासा अनासिकाः । गजसंनिभनासाश्च ललाटोच्छ्वासनासिकाः ॥ 17.12 ॥

atināsāśca kāścicca tiryaṅnāsā anāsikāḥ | gajasaṃnibhanāsāśca lalāṭocchvāsanāsikāḥ ||

Some had enormous noses, some crooked ones set sideways, some none at all; some had noses like an elephant's trunk, and some had nostrils flaring up to the forehead.

Shloka 13 (sundara.17.13)

हस्तिपादा महापादा गोपादाः पादचूलिकाः । अतिमात्रशिरोग्रीवा अतिमात्रकुचोदरीः ॥ 17.13 ॥

hastipādā mahāpādā gopādāḥ pādacūlikāḥ | atimātraśirogrīvā atimātrakucodarīḥ ||

Some had elephantine feet, some enormous feet, some cow-like feet, some feet crested like a topknot; some had heads and necks of monstrous size, and some breasts and bellies swollen beyond measure.

Shloka 14 (sundara.17.14)

अतिमात्रास्यनेत्राश्च दीर्घजिह्वाननास्तथा । अजामुखीर्हस्तिमुखीर्गोमुखीः सूकरीमुखीः ॥ 17.14 ॥

atimātrāsyanetrāśca dīrghajihvānanās tathā | ajāmukhīr hastimukhīr gomukhīḥ sūkarīmukhīḥ ||

Some had faces and eyes grotesquely large, some long tongues and long faces; some had the face of a goat, some of an elephant, some of a cow, and some of a sow.

Shloka 15 (sundara.17.15)

हयोष्ट्रखरवक्त्राश्च राक्षसीर्घोरदर्शनाः । शूलमुद्गरहस्ताश्च क्रोधनाः कलहप्रियाः ॥ 17.15 ॥

hayoṣṭrakharavaktrāśca rākṣasīr ghoradarśanāḥ | śūlamudgarahastāśca krodhanāḥ kalahapriyāḥ ||

Some rakshasis, terrible to behold, had the faces of horses, camels, and donkeys; they held spears and clubs in their hands, quick to anger and fond of strife.

Shloka 16 (sundara.17.16)

कराला धूम्रकेशिन्यो राक्षसीर्विकृताननाः । पिबन्ति सततं पानं सुरामांससदाप्रियाः ॥ 17.16 ॥

karālā dhūmrakeśinyo rākṣasīr vikṛtānanāḥ | pibanti satataṃ pānaṃ surāmāṃsasadāpriyāḥ ||

Those rakshasis, terrifying, with hair the color of smoke, their faces monstrous, drank liquor constantly, ever fond of meat and wine.

Shloka 17 (sundara.17.17)

मांसशोणितदिग्धांगीर्मांसशोणितभोजनाः । ता ददर्श कपिश्रेष्ठो रोमहर्षणदर्शनाः ॥ 17.17 ॥

māṃsaśoṇitadigdhāṅgīr māṃsaśoṇitabhojanāḥ | tā dadarśa kapiśreṣṭho romaharṣaṇadarśanāḥ ||

Their bodies smeared with flesh and blood, feeding on flesh and blood -- such were these rakshasis, hair-raising to behold, whom the best of vanaras now saw.

Shloka 18 (sundara.17.18)

स्कन्धवन्तमुपासीनाः परिवार्य वनस्पतिम् । तस्याधस्ताच्च तां देवीं राजपुत्रीमनिन्दिताम् ॥ 17.18 ॥

skandhavantam upāsīnāḥ parivārya vanaspatim | tasyādhastācca tāṃ devīṃ rājaputrīm aninditām ||

They sat encircling that great-trunked tree, and beneath it was that blameless princess, the goddess-like Sita.

Shloka 19 (sundara.17.19)

लक्षयामास लक्ष्मीवान् हनूमाञ्जनकात्मजाम् । निष्प्रभां शोकसंतप्तां मलसंकुलमूर्धजाम् ॥ 17.19 ॥

lakṣayāmāsa lakṣmīvān hanūmāñ janakātmajām | niṣprabhāṃ śokasaṃtaptāṃ malasaṃkulamūrdhajām ||

The glorious Hanuman recognized the daughter of Janaka -- her radiance gone, consumed by grief, her hair matted with dirt.

Shloka 20 (sundara.17.20)

क्षीणपुण्यां च्युतां भूमौ तारां निपतितामिव । चारित्रव्यपदेशाढ्यां भर्तृदर्शनदुर्गताम् ॥ 17.20 ॥

kṣīṇapuṇyāṃ cyutāṃ bhūmau tārāṃ nipatitām iva | cāritravyapadeśāḍhyāṃ bhartṛdarśanadurgatām ||

She seemed like a star, its merit spent, fallen to earth; rich in the fame of her virtuous character, yet reduced to misery for want of the sight of her husband.

Shloka 21 (sundara.17.21)

भूषणैरुत्तमैर्हीनां भर्तृवात्सल्यभूषिताम् । राक्षसाधिपसंरुद्धां बन्धुभिश्च विनाकृताम् ॥ 17.21 ॥

bhūṣaṇair uttamair hīnāṃ bhartṛvātsalyabhūṣitām | rākṣasādhipasaṃruddhāṃ bandhubhiśca vinākṛtām ||

Bereft of fine ornaments, yet adorned by her husband's tender love alone, held captive by the lord of rakshasas, and cut off from all her kin.

Shloka 22 (sundara.17.22)

वियूथां सिंहसंरुद्धां बद्धां गजवधूमिव । चन्द्ररेखां पयोदान्ते शारदाभ्रैरिवावृताम् ॥ 17.22 ॥

viyūthāṃ siṃhasaṃruddhāṃ baddhāṃ gajavadhūm iva | candrarekhāṃ payodānte śāradābhrair ivāvṛtām ||

She was like a she-elephant cut off from her herd, seized and bound by a lion, or like a crescent moon veiled by autumn clouds at the season's end.

Shloka 23 (sundara.17.23)

क्लिष्टरूपामसंस्पर्शादयुक्तामिव वल्लकीम् । स तां भर्तृहिते युक्तामयुक्तां रक्षसां वशे ॥ 17.23 ॥

kliṣṭarūpām asaṃsparśād ayuktām iva vallakīm | sa tāṃ bhartṛhite yuktām ayuktāṃ rakṣasāṃ vaśe ||

Her beauty was faded, like a vina left untouched and out of tune; ever devoted to her husband's welfare, she was now, helplessly, in the power of the rakshasas.

Shloka 24 (sundara.17.24)

अशोकवनिकामध्ये शोकसागरमाप्लुताम् । ताभिः परिवृतां तत्र सग्रहामिव रोहिणीम् ॥ 17.24 ॥

aśokavanikāmadhye śokasāgaram āplutām | tābhiḥ parivṛtāṃ tatra sagrahām iva rohiṇīm ||

There in the midst of the ashoka grove, immersed in an ocean of grief, surrounded by those rakshasis, she looked like the star Rohini besieged by malignant planets.

Shloka 25 (sundara.17.25)

ददर्श हनुमांस्तत्र लतामकुसुमामिव । सा मलेन च दिग्धांगी वपुषा चाप्यलंकृता । मृणाली पङ्कदिग्धेव विभाति च न भाति च ॥ 17.25 ॥

dadarśa hanumāṃs tatra latām akusumām iva | sā malena ca digdhāṅgī vapuṣā cāpy alaṃkṛtā | mṛṇālī paṅkadigdheva vibhāti ca na bhāti ca ||

There Hanuman saw her, like a flowerless creeper. Her limbs smeared with dirt, yet graced still by her own natural beauty, she shone and yet did not shine, like a lotus-fibre coated with mud.

Shloka 26 (sundara.17.26)

मलिनेन तु वस्त्रेण परिक्लिष्टेन भामिनीम् । संवृतां मृगशावाक्षीं ददर्श हनुमान् कपिः ॥ 17.26 ॥

malinena tu vastreṇa parikliṣṭena bhāminīm | saṃvṛtāṃ mṛgaśāvākṣīṃ dadarśa hanumān kapiḥ ||

Hanuman, the vanara, saw that lovely woman, her eyes like a fawn's, wrapped in a soiled and threadbare garment.

Shloka 27 (sundara.17.27)

तां देवीं दीनवदनामदीनां भर्तृतेजसा । रक्षितां स्वेन शीलेन सीतामसितलोचनाम् ॥ 17.27 ॥

tāṃ devīṃ dīnavadanām adīnāṃ bhartṛtejasā | rakṣitāṃ svena śīlena sītām asitalocanām ||

That dark-eyed goddess Sita, her face wan with sorrow, yet inwardly undaunted through her husband's own splendor, was protected by nothing but her own virtue.

Shloka 28 (sundara.17.28)

तां दृष्ट्वा हनुमान् सीतां मृगशावनिभेक्षणाम् । मृगकन्यामिव त्रस्तां वीक्षमाणां समन्ततः ॥ 17.28 ॥

tāṃ dṛṣṭvā hanumān sītāṃ mṛgaśāvanibhekṣaṇām | mṛgakanyām iva trastāṃ vīkṣamāṇāṃ samantataḥ ||

Seeing that Sita -- her eyes like a fawn's, glancing about on every side like a startled doe --

Shloka 29 (sundara.17.29)

दहन्तीमिव निःश्वासैर्वृक्षान् पल्लवधारिणः । संघातमिव शोकानां दुःखस्योर्मिमिवोत्थिताम् ॥ 17.29 ॥

dahantīm iva niḥśvāsair vṛkṣān pallavadhāriṇaḥ | saṃghātam iva śokānāṃ duḥkhasyormim ivotthitām ||

-- who seemed to scorch the leaf-laden trees with her very sighs, who seemed a mass of sorrows incarnate, a rising wave of anguish --

Shloka 30 (sundara.17.30)

तां क्षमां सुविभक्तांगीं विनाभरणशोभिनीम् । प्रहर्षमतुलं लेभे मारुतिः प्रेक्ष्य मैथिलीम् ॥ 17.30 ॥

tāṃ kṣamāṃ suvibhaktāṅgīṃ vinābharaṇaśobhinīm | praharṣam atulaṃ lebhe mārutiḥ prekṣya maithilīm ||

-- that Maithili, patient as the earth, her limbs perfectly formed, radiant even without ornament -- seeing her, the son of the wind felt joy beyond measure.

Shloka 31 (sundara.17.31)

हर्षजानि च सोऽश्रूणि तां दृष्ट्वा मदिरेक्षणाम् । मुमोच हनुमांस्तत्र नमश्चक्रे च राघवम् ॥ 17.31 ॥

harṣajāni ca so'śrūṇi tāṃ dṛṣṭvā madirekṣaṇām | mumoca hanumāṃs tatra namaścakre ca rāghavam ||

On seeing her of the intoxicating eyes, Hanuman shed tears of joy there, and bowed in homage to Raghava.

Shloka 32 (sundara.17.32)

नमस्कृत्वाथ रामाय लक्ष्मणाय च वीर्यवान् । सीतादर्शनसंहृष्टो हनुमान् संवृतोऽभवत् ॥ 17.32 ॥

namaskṛtvātha rāmāya lakṣmaṇāya ca vīryavān | sītādarśanasaṃhṛṣṭo hanumān saṃvṛto'bhavat ||

Having paid homage to Rama and to Lakshmana, the mighty Hanuman, rejoicing at the sight of Sita, remained there concealed.