English Commentaries


Sita’s virtues 5.15.18-41

Sita is compared to the moonlight suggesting that she is good to the whole world. She is compared to the wife of king of serpents suggesting that none could dare touch her. Sita is compared to the flame of fire to suggest her chastity (pativratya). She appeared like obstructed achievement, like sullied intellect. She was like fame tarnished by untrue scandals and sorrowful due to the obstacles for Rama’s arrival.
Hanuman’s intellect doubted whether she was Sita because thinness and dirt covered her true form. She was like knowledge that has become weak due to the absence of study. He identified her as Sita with a lot of effort because she was then like speech which goes to some others meaning due to lack of vyutpatti, but comes back to the right meaning after realizing the vyutpatti (grammatical derivation)
Hanuman saw Sita’s ornaments shining on the branches of the tree, indicating that she had placed the ornaments on the branches because it would be, improper for her to wear them when Rama was not there.