Shloka 7
वालिवधोत्तरशोकः
Sugriva’s Remorse and Tara’s Lament after Vali’s Death
श्रेयोऽद्य मन्ये मम शैलमुख्येतस्मिन्निवासश्चिरमृश्यमूके।यथा तथा वर्तयतस्स्ववृत्त्यानेमं निहत्य त्रिदिवस्य लाभः।।
śreyo 'dya manye mama śaila-mukhye tasmin nivāsaś ciram ṛśyamūke |
yathā tathā vartayatas sva-vṛttyā n' emaṃ nihatya tridivasya lābhaḥ ||
Heute meine ich, es wäre besser für mich gewesen, lange auf jenem erhabenen Berg, Ṛśyamūka, zu wohnen und nach eigener Kraft zu leben, als den Himmel als ‘Lohn’ dafür zu gewinnen, dass ich ihn erschlagen habe.
'I now feel dwelling long on the great mountain Rishyamuka as usual and somehow eking out a livelihood is preferable to attaining heaven as a sequel to the death of my brother.
FAQs
Dharma values a modest life without wrongdoing over any ‘profit’ gained through harm; even heavenly reward is rejected if it rests on unrighteous violence.
Sugrīva contrasts his earlier exile-life on Ṛśyamūka with the moral burden that followed Vāli’s death.
Moral discernment born of remorse: Sugrīva recognizes that ends do not purify wrongful means.