Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 77: The Newly-wed Couples Reach Ayodhyā
Text 1.77.35
तस्य भूयो विशेषेण मैथिली जनकात्मजा।
देवताभिः समा रूपे सीता श्रीरिव रूपिणी॥
tasya bhūyo viśeṣeṇa maithilī janakātmajā
devatābhiḥ samā rūpe sītā śrīr iva rūpiṇī
tasya = knew the heart of Rāma; bhūyaḥ = also; viśeṣeṇa = clearly; maithilī = for she had taken birth in Mithilā; janaka-ātmajā = she was Janaka’s daughter; devatābhiḥ = to the celestials; samā = she was equal; rūpe = and as beautiful; sītā = Sītā; śrīḥ = Śrī herself; iva = as; rūpiṇī = the beautiful.
Sītā also clearly knew the heart of Rāma for she had taken birth in Mithilā, she was Janaka’s daughter, she was equal to the celestials and as beautiful as the beautiful Śrī herself.
Sītā understood her husband Rāma’s heart so well that simply by His gesture for enjoying a certain type of happiness, she could understand how to pleasingly satisfy Him. She did not desire any enjoyment beyond what her husband desired. This is also the case with Rāma’s dealings with Sītā.
But Sītā understood her beloved husband’s heart more than the extent to which He understood her heart. This is because she was born in Mithilā, she was Janaka’s daughter, she was equal in beauty to the celestials and she was splendorous like Śrī herself. In other words, by the nature of the place Mithilā and the nature of her dynasty, she had an acute sense of observation. That she was equal to the celestials reveals her proficiency. In beauty, she was like a visibly beautiful Śrī. All of this indicates that she possessed special, natural intelligence.