Shloka 12

लङ्कादाहानन्तरचिन्ता

Hanuman’s Post-Conflagration Self-Examination and Assurance of Sita’s Safety

Devanagari script

यदि तद्विहतं कार्यं मम प्रज्ञाविपर्ययात्।इहैव प्राणसंन्यासो ममापि ह्यद्य रोचते।।।।

Transliteration

yadi tad vihataṃ kāryaṃ mama prajñāviparyayāt |

ihaiva prāṇasaṃnyāso mamāpi hy adya rocate ||

Translation

Wenn durch mein eigenes verkehrtes Urteil diese Mission ruiniert wurde, dann scheint es mir angemessen, hier und jetzt mein Leben aufzugeben.

Word by Word

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: Conditional particle (avyaya)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun used adjectivally; Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• vihatam: foiled
• vihatam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√han (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: past passive participle (क्त); Neuter, Nominative, Singular; 'struck down/foiled'

• kāryam: work
• kāryam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• prajñā-viparyayāt: from error of judgment
• prajñā-viparyayāt: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajñā (प्रातिपदिक) + viparyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa: prajñāyāḥ viparyayaḥ; Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; 'due to perversion of judgment'

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (avyaya); place

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (nipāta)

• prāṇa-saṃnyāsaḥ: renunciation of life
• prāṇa-saṃnyāsaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃnyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa: prāṇānāṃ saṃnyāsaḥ; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• mama: for me/of me
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Genitive, Singular

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle; 'also/even'

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle; emphasis

• adya: today/now
• adya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (avyaya); time

• rocate: seems proper
• rocate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ruc (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (present); Ātmanepada; 3rd person, Singular; 'seems good/pleases'

Context

'If my work has been destroyed by my perversity of judgement, I will give up my life now and here itself'.

Characters & Entities

• Hanumān

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Radical accountability: Hanumān accepts personal responsibility for failure and contemplates self-sacrifice as expiation—showing seriousness toward dharma and truth.

What is the narrative situation?

Believing he may have destroyed the objective (Sītā’s rescue), Hanumān considers ending his life immediately.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Integrity and responsibility: he refuses to excuse himself and measures his worth by the mission’s moral outcome.