Shloka 8
मायामृगप्रकरणम्
The Illusory Deer Episode: Ravana and Maricha at Rama’s Hermitage
प्रलोभयित्वा वैदेहीं यथेष्टं गन्तुमर्हसि।तां शून्ये प्रसभं सीतामानयिष्यामि मैथिलीम्।।3.42.8।।
pralobhayitvā vaidehīṃ yatheṣṭaṃ gantum arhasi |
tāṃ śūnye prasabhaṃ sītām ānayiṣyāmi maithilīm || 3.42.8 ||
„Nachdem du Vaidehī (Sītā) verlockt hast, magst du gehen, wohin du willst. Wenn Sītā, die Maithilī, allein und unbewacht zurückbleibt, werde ich sie mit Gewalt ergreifen und fortführen.“
You may go whereever you like after tempting Vaidehi. When the princess of Mithila is alone, I will bring her by force.
FAQs
It illustrates a direct violation of dharma: deception (māyā) used to create vulnerability, followed by coercion. Ramayana frames such acts as the opposite of satya and maryādā—truthfulness and moral boundaries.
Rāvaṇa assigns roles: Mārīca must lure Sītā away from safety; Rāvaṇa will then abduct her when she is isolated.
The verse emphasizes, by negation, the virtue of protecting the vulnerable and honoring consent—core dhārmic duties that Rāvaṇa explicitly rejects.