Ramayana — Sundara Kanda, Sarga 13, Shloka 42
रावणभवनपरिक्रमणं हनूमतः शोकविचारश्च
Hanuman’s Circuit of Ravana’s Palace and the Crisis of Deliberation
चितां कृत्वा प्रवेक्ष्यामि समिद्धमरणीसुतम्।उपविष्टस्य वा सम्यग्लिङ्गिनीं साधयिष्यतः।।।।शरीरं भक्षयिष्यन्ति वायसाः श्वापदानि च।
citāṃ kṛtvā pravekṣyāmi samiddham araṇīsutam |
upaviṣṭasya vā samyag liṅginīṃ sādhayiṣyataḥ ||
śarīraṃ bhakṣayiṣyanti vāyasāḥ śvāpadāni ca |
আমি চিতা রচনা করে অরণি-উৎপন্ন প্রজ্বলিত অগ্নিতে প্রবেশ করব; অথবা এখানে বসে প্রায়োপবেশন-ব্রত (অনশন-মৃত্যু) পালন করব—যতক্ষণ না কাক ও হিংস্র জন্তু এই দেহ ভক্ষণ করে।
"I will prepare a pyre and enter the fire so that sea waves wash off the ashes or crows and beasts will eat up my body while i sit fasting unto death.
FAQs
The verse dramatizes the danger of despair: when duty feels threatened, the mind imagines self-harm; the Ramayana’s ethical arc later corrects this toward perseverance and life-affirming dharma.
Hanuman, overwhelmed by the fear of failing Rama’s mission, considers extreme forms of self-ending—immolation or fasting unto death.
Intense accountability: even in error, Hanuman’s thoughts show how seriously he treats responsibility to Rama and Sītā.