Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 95: Rāma Describes Mandākinī’s Beauty to Sītā
Text 2.95.6
जटाजिनधराः काले वल्कलोत्तरवाससः।
ऋषयस्त्ववगाहन्ते नदीं मन्दाकिनीं प्रिये॥
jaṭājinadharāḥ kāle valkalottara-vāsasaḥ
ṛṣayas tv avagāhante nadīṁ mandākinīṁ priye
jaṭā-ajinadharāḥ = with matted hair wearing deer skins; kāle = at times appropriate to their vows; valkala-uttara-vāsasaḥ = and bark as their upper clothes; ṛṣayaḥ tu = sages; avagāhante = immerse themselves; nadīm mandākinīm = in the river Mandākinī; priye = beloved Sītā.
Beloved Sītā, sages with matted hair wearing deer skins and bark as their upper clothes immerse themselves in the river Mandākinī at times appropriate to their vows.
1 And that she should look where ever Rāma was drawing her attention to.
Rāma addresses Sītā as priye (“beloved”) to indicate that she should not look elsewhere.1