राममिन्दीवरश्यामं कन्दर्पसदृशप्रभम्।
बभूवेन्द्रोपमं दृष्ट्वा राक्षसी काममोहिता॥
rāmam indīvara-śyāmaṁ kandarpa-sadṛśa-prabham
babhūvendropamaṁ dṛṣṭvā rākṣasī kāma-mohitā
rāmam = Rāma; indīvara-śyāmam = was dark like a lotus; kandarpa-sadṛśa-prabham = He appeared like Kāmadeva; babhūva = became; indra-upamam = and Indra; dṛṣṭvā = upon seeing Him; rākṣasī = the rākṣasī; kāma-mohitā = bewildered in passion.
Rāma was dark like a lotus. He appeared like Kāmadeva and Indra. Upon seeing Him, the rākṣasī became bewildered in passion.1
1 This is the beginning of the downfall of Śūrpaṇakhā who was both materially attracted to Rāma and filled with the desire to kill Sītā to enjoy her position. To be attracted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to selflessly serve Him is something else altogether. Such attraction is found in the queens of Dvārakā and the young gopīs of Vṛndāvana towards Kṛṣṇa. That this conjugal attraction is absolutely free from passion or lust has been well-demonstrated by Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā, Chapter 4). As Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has explained to Rūpa Gosvāmī in the same book (Madhya-līlā, Chapter 19), in pure mādhurya-prema-bhakti, the beloved devotee of the Lord is always (1) free from all material desires, (b) conscious of Kṛṣṇa, (c) renders Him service, (d) is confidentially intimate with Him in affection, (e) takes care of Him, and (f) offers herself unto Him in a conjugal relationship. If any of us attempt to follow in the footsteps of Śūrpaṇakhā who wanted to kill Sītā-devī and take over her position, we will also be humiliated and injured by the Lord’s associates to prevent us from increasing our offenses unto His lotus feet.
1 This paragraph is the rendition of a remark that is part of the commentary on text 20. It has been placed here for increased clarity.
Lord Rāma’s characteristics as described [in texts 7-9] are the reasons for [Śūrpaṇakhā’s] passionate bewilderment.
Sage Vālmīki then laughs at her mental attraction towards Him in the following verses.
It should be understood that since she could change her form at will, Śūrpaṇakhā had assumed a charming form when she came to meet Rāma. The sage, [however,] describes her real form in the following verses [while contrasting her with Rāma].1