Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 30: Rāma Allows Sītā to Follow Him to the Forest
Text 2.30.25
तच्चैवामलचन्द्राभं मुखमायतलोचनम्।
पर्यशुष्यत बाष्पेण जलोद्धृतमिवाम्बुजम्॥
tac caivāmala-candrābhaṁ mukham āyata-locanam
paryaśuṣyata bāṣpeṇa jaloddhṛtam ivāmbujam
tat1 ca eva = and; amala-candra-ābham = which had the complexion of the spotless moon; mukham = her face; āyata-locanam = with her wide eyes; paryaśuṣyata = dried up; bāṣpeṇa = by her [bodily] heat; jala-uddhṛtam = plucked out of water; iva = like; ambujam = a lotus.
And her face, which had the complexion of the spotless moon, with her wide eyes, dried up by her [bodily] heat like a lotus plucked out of water.[
In some manuscripts, tac caivāmala-saṅkāśaṁ appears instead of tac caivāmala-candrābhaṁ indicating that Sītā-devī’s face shone due to her spotlessness. Bāṣpeṇa also indicates that [her face has been compared to a lotus plucked out of water that has withered away] due to heat.1