लङ्का दृष्टा मया स्वप्ने रावणेनाभिरक्षिता। दग्धा रामस्य दूतेन वानरेण तरस्विना
I saw Lanka in my dream, guarded by Ravana, burned by Rama's swift messenger, the monkey.
पीत्वा तैलं प्रमत्ताश्च प्रहसन्त्यो महास्वनाः। लङ्कायां भस्मरूक्षायां सर्वा राक्षसयोषितः
Having drunk oil, intoxicated and laughing loudly, all the rakshasa women in Lanka, rough with ashes, were seen.
कुम्भकर्णादयश्चेमे सर्वे राक्षसपुंगवाः। रक्तं निवसनं गृह्य प्रविष्टा गोमयह्रदम्
These, including Kumbhakarna and other foremost rakshasas, took red garments and entered a pond of cow dung.
अपगच्छत पश्यध्वं सीतामाप्नोति राघवः। घातयेत् परमामर्षी युष्मान् सार्धं हि राक्षसैः
Go away, see for yourselves—Raghava will obtain Sita; he, full of wrath, will destroy you together with the rakshasas.
प्रियां बहुमतां भार्यां वनवासमनुव्रताम्। भर्त्सितां तर्जितां वापि नानुमंस्यति राघवः
He will not tolerate his beloved, esteemed wife, devoted to forest life, being insulted or threatened.
तदलं क्रूरवाक्यैश्च सान्त्वमेवाभिधीयताम्। अभियाचाम वैदेहीमेतद्धि मम रोचते
Enough of harsh words; let only gentle speech be spoken. Let us beseech Vaidehi—this is what pleases me.
यस्या ह्येवंविधः स्वप्नो दुःखितायाः प्रदृश्यते। सा दुःखैर्बहुभिर्मुक्ता प्रियं प्राप्नोत्यनुत्तमम्
For one whose dream appears thus, while suffering, she will be freed from many sorrows and attain her most beloved.
भर्त्सितामपि याचध्वं राक्षस्यः किं विवक्षया। राघवाद्धि भयं घोरं राक्षसानामुपस्थितम्
Even if she has been insulted, beseech her, rakshasis—what is the point of further talk? Terrible fear from Raghava has come upon the rakshasas.
प्रणिपातप्रसन्ना हि मैथिली जनकात्मजा। अलमेषा परित्रातुं राक्षस्यो महतो भयात्
Maithili, daughter of Janaka, is easily pleased by humility; she alone is enough to save the rakshasis from great danger.
अपि चास्या विशालाक्ष्या न किंचिदुपलक्षये। विरूपमपि चांगेषु सुसूक्ष्ममपि लक्षणम्
Moreover, in this wide-eyed woman, I do not observe any deformity, not even the slightest mark on her limbs.
छायावैगुण्यमात्रं तु शङ्के दुःखमुपस्थितम्। अदुःखार्हामिमां देवीं वैहायसमुपस्थिताम्
I suspect only a slight defect in her shadow; suffering has come upon this goddess, who has arrived through the sky, though she is undeserving of sorrow.
अर्थसिद्धिं तु वैदेह्याः पश्याम्यहमुपस्थिताम्। राक्षसेन्द्रविनाशं च विजयं राघवस्य च
I see that the attainment of her purpose is now at hand for Vaidehī, as well as the destruction of the lord of the rākṣasas and the victory of Rāghava.
निमित्तभूतमेतत् तु श्रोतुमस्या महत् प्रियम्। दृश्यते च स्फुरच्चक्षुः पद्मपत्रमिवायतम्
This, indeed, is an omen: to hear such a great and pleasing thing for her; and her wide, lotus-petal-like eyes are seen to be trembling.
ईषद्धि हृषितो वास्या दक्षिणाया ह्यदक्षिणः। अकस्मादेव वैदेह्या बाहुरेकः प्रकम्पते
Indeed, her right arm, though usually calm, now trembles slightly without cause, and only one arm of Vaidehī is shaking.
करेणुहस्तप्रतिमः सव्यश्चोरुरनुत्तमः। वेपन् कथयतीवास्या राघवं पुरतः स्थितम्
Her excellent left thigh, resembling the trunk of a young elephant, is trembling, as if declaring that Rāghava stands before her.
पक्षी च शाखानिलयं प्रविष्टः पुनः पुनश्चोत्तमसान्त्ववादी। सुस्वागतां वाचमुदीरयाणः पुनः पुनश्चोदयतीव हृष्टः
And a bird, having entered its nest among the branches, repeatedly utters auspicious and comforting words, as if joyfully urging her on again and again.
ततः सा ह्रीमती बाला भर्तुर्विजयहर्षिता। अवोचद् यदि तत् तथ्यं भवेयं शरणं हि वः
Then that modest young woman, delighted by her husband's impending victory, spoke: 'If this is true, may I indeed become your refuge.'
thumb|अष्टाविंशः सर्गः श्रूयताम्|center श्रीमद्वाल्मीकियरामायणे सुन्दरकाण्डे अष्टाविंशः सर्गः ॥५-
Let the twenty-eighth chapter now be heard in the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, in the Sundara Kāṇḍa.
सा राक्षसेन्द्रस्य वचो निशम्य तद् रावणस्याप्रियमप्रियार्ता। सीता वितत्रास यथा वनान्ते सिंहाभिपन्ना गजराजकन्या
Hearing the words of the king of rākṣasas—those harsh words of Rāvaṇa, which brought her pain—Sītā was seized with fear, like the daughter of an elephant king attacked by a lion at the edge of the forest.
सा राक्षसीमध्यगता च भीरु- र्वाग्भिर्भृशं रावणतर्जिता च। कान्तारमध्ये विजने विसृष्टा बालेव कन्या विललाप सीता
Surrounded by rākṣasī women, that fearful Sītā, harshly threatened by Rāvaṇa's words, lamented like a young girl abandoned alone in a desolate wilderness.
सत्यं बतेदं प्रवदन्ति लोके नाकालमृत्युर्भवतीति सन्तः। यत्राहमेवं परिभर्त्स्यमाना जीवामि यस्मात् क्षणमप्यपुण्या
Truly, what people say in the world is right: 'There is no untimely death for the virtuous.' For though I am so harshly abused, I, so unworthy, still live even for a moment.
सुखाद् विहीनं बहुदुःखपूर्ण- मिदं तु नूनं हृदयं स्थिरं मे। विदीर्यते यन्न सहस्रधाद्य वज्राहतं शृंगमिवाचलस्य
Surely my heart is firm indeed, deprived of happiness and filled with much sorrow, for it does not shatter into a thousand pieces today, like the peak of a mountain struck by a thunderbolt.
नैवास्ति नूनं मम दोषमत्र वध्याहमस्याप्रियदर्शनस्य। भावं न चास्याहमनुप्रदातु- मलं द्विजो मन्त्रमिवाद्विजाय
Surely there is no fault of mine in this matter, yet I am to be killed by him who finds me displeasing to his sight. Nor am I able to reveal my true feelings to him, just as a twice-born cannot impart a mantra to one uninitiated.
तस्मिन्ननागच्छति लोकनाथे गर्भस्थजन्तोरिव शल्यकृन्तः। नूनं ममांगान्यचिरादनार्यः शस्त्रैः शितैश्छेत्स्यति राक्षसेन्द्रः
Since the lord of the world does not come, surely soon the king of rākṣasas will cruelly cut my limbs with sharp weapons, like the pain of a thorn in the womb of an unborn creature.
दुःखं बतेदं ननु दुःखिताया मासौ चिरायाभिगमिष्यतो द्वौ। बद्धस्य वध्यस्य यथा निशान्ते राजोपरोधादिव तस्करस्य
Indeed, this is suffering for one already afflicted, as two months will pass before he comes. It is like the night for a bound and condemned thief, awaiting execution by the king.
हा राम हा लक्ष्मण हा सुमित्रे हा राममातः सह मे जनन्यः। एषा विपद्याम्यहमल्पभाग्या महार्णवे नौरिव मूढवाता
O Rāma! O Lakṣmaṇa! O Sumitrā! O mother of Rāma, together with my own mother! I, of little fortune, am perishing like a ship lost in the great ocean, caught in a bewildering wind.
तरस्विनौ धारयता मृगस्य सत्त्वेन रूपं मनुजेन्द्रपुत्रौ। नूनं विशस्तौ मम कारणात् तौ सिंहर्षभौ द्वाविव वैद्युतेन
Surely, the two sons of the king of men, sustaining the form of a deer by its power, have been slain on my account—those two, like a pair of lions, struck down by a thunderbolt.
नूनं स कालो मृगरूपधारी मामल्पभाग्यां लुलुभे तदानीम्। यत्रार्यपुत्रौ विससर्ज मूढा रामानुजं लक्ष्मणपूर्वजं च
Surely, that Time itself, assuming the form of a deer, deceived me, so unfortunate, when I, in my folly, sent away those noble brothers—Rāma and his younger brother Lakṣmaṇa.
हा राम सत्यव्रत दीर्घबाहो हा पूर्णचन्द्रप्रतिमानवक्त्र। हा जीवलोकस्य हितः प्रियश्च वध्यां न मां वेत्सि हि राक्षसानाम्
O Rāma, true to your vow, long-armed! O you whose face resembles the full moon! O benefactor and beloved of all living beings! You do not know that I am condemned to death by the rākṣasas.
अनन्यदेवत्वमियं क्षमा च भूमौ च शय्या नियमश्च धर्मे। पतिव्रतात्वं विफलं ममेदं कृतं कृतघ्नेष्विव मानुषाणाम्
This devotion to none but you, this forbearance, this bed upon the ground, this observance of righteousness—my fidelity as a wife has become fruitless, like kindness shown to the ungrateful among men.