मृगाः सिंहा गजाश्चैव शार्दूलाः शरभास्तथा।
पक्षिणः सृमराश्चैव ये चान्ये वनचारिणः॥
अदृष्टपूर्वरूपत्वात्सर्वे ते तव राघव।
रूपं दृष्ट्वापसर्पेयुर्भये सर्वे हि बिभ्यति॥
mṛgāḥ siṁhā gajāś caiva śārdūlāḥ śarabhās tathā
pakṣiṇaḥ sṛmarāś caiva ye cānye vanacāriṇaḥ
adṛṣṭa-pūrva-rūpatvāt sarve te tava rāghava
rūpaṁ dṛṣṭvāpasarpeyur bhaye sarve hi bibhyati
mṛgāḥ = deer; siṁhāḥ = lions; gajāḥ ca eva = elephants; śārdūlāḥ = tigers; śarabhāḥ tathā = the eight-legged śarabhas; pakṣiṇaḥ = birds; sṛmarāḥ ca eva = gavayas; ye ca anye = and others; vanacāriṇaḥ = dwell in the forest; adṛṣṭa-pūrva-rūpatvāt = because they would not have seen such a form in the past; sarve = all; te = that; tava = Your; rāghava = Rāghava; rūpam = form; dṛṣṭvā =
upon seeing; apasarpeyuḥ = will flee away; bhaye = of danger; sarve hi = everyone; bibhyati = is frightened.
Rāghava, deer, lions, elephants, tigers, the eight-legged śarabhas, birds, gavaya oxen and all others that dwell in the forest will flee away upon seeing Your form because they would not have seen such a form in the past. Everyone is frightened of danger.
Rāma had said [in the previous chapter] that upon seeing Sītā and Rāma, the forest creatures would attack them. Sītā refutes that contention here by saying that by seeing Him, they would flee away [in fear].
GLOSS. These creatures would just flee away because everyone is afraid of Him, for in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.8) it is said:
bhīṣāsmād vātaḥ pavate bhīṣodeti sūryaḥ
bhīṣāsmād agniś candraś ca mṛtyur dhāvati pañcamaḥ
“It is out of fear of the Supreme Brahman that the wind is blowing, out of fear of Him that the sun regularly rises and sets, and out of fear of Him that fire acts. It is only due to fear of Him that death and Indra, the King of heaven, perform their respective duties.”