Hari Om.
Let us begin the thirty fourth sarga of the sundara kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
After an eventful time since the advent of hanumAn on the lanka soil, finally his mission of locating sItA and conveying the comforting message to her happened. Since he landed in the enemy territory, he withdrew to a small frame and became inconspicuous to avoid being spotted and conducted his mission. After much effort when he saw sItA, before he could think of how to convey the message to her, the ten-headed demon came and blew hot and cold. A stern sItA snubbed him and forced him to beat a retreat to his palace. But she was too wounded in her psyche as she saw no end to her agony except ending her own life. Just when she wanted to noose her life out using her braid, hanumAn stepped in with the sweet story of rAma which filled her with happiness and hope. But, given how tormented she was, it took time for her to recognize that this was real. The story of rAma had pulled her back to life, evidently, but she was not without doubt yet. Onwards…
Hearing to the grief-filled lament of sItA, the best of the vAnaras hanumAn spoke comfortingly and said –
“O dEvI, carrying the message of rAma, I am his messenger who has come here. The son of daSaratha, rAma, the great scholar of the vEdas and who wields the supreme weapon Brahmastra is well and has inquired about your welfare. His dear follower and brother, the brilliant lakshmaNa is grieving and has conveyed his prostrations to you”.
sItA was thrilled with great delight upon learning about the welfare of the duo and said to hanumAn –
कल्याणी बत गाथेयं लौकिकी प्रतिभाति मा।
एति जीवन्तमानन्दो नरं वर्षशतादपि।।5.34.6।।
“Indeed, the auspicious adage that is popular in the world is indeed true – the one who manages to live will hear good news even after a hundred years”.
The meeting of sItA and hanumAn generated much positivity and they began to speak more leading to confidence in each other. As she was opening up a bit to hanumAn, he started to approach her and as he did so, sItA suspected that he was rAvaNa in disguise and felt mortified for having spoken to him. She left the branch and sat down on the ground. hanumAn saw the grief-stricken woman and prostrated to her. Without seeing him directly, she said –
“You trickster, if you are rAvaNa who is doing this trick again and causing grief to me, it is not palatable. In the janasthAna you came in the guise of a mendicant. I am emaciated by fasting and am already downcast. It is very bad that you are adding to my misery”. And then she thought again and said –
“Or maybe my suspicion is not true. By seeing you my mind is filled with delight. Wellness be upon you if you are indeed the emissary of rAma. O best of vAnara, I will ask you tell me the story of my beloved rAma. You are eroding my heart like river currents chip away its banks. Ah, this dream is indeed pleasant and extensive in which I am seeing a vAnara sent as an emissary of rAma. I will survive even if I can have a glimpse of rAma and lakshmaNa in my dream. But alas, I cannot dream for I cannot sleep. However, I do not think this is a dream since I can very well recognize the presence of the vAnara. This could be a hallucination or a mirage. Even that cannot be so since the vAnara here is so real”!
Thus sItA thought loudly deliberating on the veracity of the vAnara being an emissary of rAma as claimed by him. She made up her mind that he was indeed the demon in disguise and didn’t respond to the vAnara.
Grasping the thoughts of sItA, hanumAn the son of the wind god, began to speak words that were pleasing to her in order to thrill her.
सीतायाश्चिन्तितं बुद्ध्वा हनुमान्मारुतात्मजः।।5.34.27।।
श्रोत्रानुकूलैर्वचनैस्तदा तां संप्रहर्षयत्।
“rAma is brilliant like the sun, delights the world like the moon, is the king of the world like vaiSravaNa (kubEra) and is equal to the peerless and illustrious vishNu in his valour. He speaks truth and speaks it sweetly like the guru of the gods, bRhaspati. He is graceful and is handsome in his appearance like the god of love. Appropriately he unleashes his anger and the entire world takes refuge in the might of his arms.
अपकृष्याश्रमपदान्मृगरूपेण राघवम्।
शून्ये येनापनीतासि तस्य द्रक्ष्यसि यत्फलम्।।5.34.32।।
You will soon see the consequence of abducting you deceitfully from the hermitage in the absence of rAghava. He will soon come and banquish rAvaNa in combat with his scorching arrows unleashed in anger. I have been sent by him as his emissary to carry out his mission. He is grieving in your absence and has inquired about your welfare. The cause of the enduring delight of sumitrA, the mighty lakshmaNa bows to you and inquires of your welfare. O dEvI, the mate of rAma, king of the vAnaras by name sugrIva conveys his regards to you. rAma along with lakshmaNa and sugrIva constantly remembers you. It is fortunate that you are alive in the captivity of the demons.
नित्यं स्मरति रामस्त्वां ससुग्रीव स्सलक्ष्मणः।
दिष्ट्या जीवसि वैदेहि राक्षसीवशमागता।।5.34.37।।
Before long you will witness the mighty rAma and lakshmaNa in the midst of a formidable vAnara army along with the brilliant sugrIva. I am the minister of sugrIva by name hanumAn who entered in to the city of lanka having crossed the ocean. Summoning my valor, I have entered the enemy territory of the wicked rAvaNa in order to find you. O dEvI, I am not the one you are suspecting of being. Please give up this suspicion and trust me”.
Here we conclude the thirty fourth sarga of the sundara kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 5.35. The winning and reassuring articulation
Previous: 5.33. She confirms her identity
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
