Shloka 12
पुष्पकविमानवर्णनम्
Description of the Pushpaka Vimana and Ravana’s Inner Palace
ब्रह्मणोऽर्थे कृतं दिव्यं दिवि यद्विश्वकर्मणा।विमानं पुष्पकं नाम सर्वरत्नविभूषितम्।।5.9.11।।परेण तपसा लेभे यत्कुबेरः पितामहात्।कुबेरमोजसा जित्वा लेभे तद्राक्षसेश्वरः।।5.9.12।।
brahmaṇo’rthe kṛtaṃ divyaṃ divi yad viśvakarmaṇā |
vimānaṃ puṣpakaṃ nāma sarva-ratna-vibhūṣitam ||
pareṇa tapasā lebhe yat kuberaḥ pitāmahāt |
kuberam ojasā jitvā lebhe tad rākṣaseśvaraḥ ||
Dort stand der wunderbare Himmelswagen namens Puṣpaka, mit allen Arten von Edelsteinen geschmückt—im Himmel von Viśvakarman für Brahmā gefertigt. Eben diesen Wagen hatte Kubera von seinem Ahnherrn, dem Pitāmaha (Brahmā), durch höchste Askese (tapas) erlangt; doch der Herr der Rākṣasas gewann ihn, indem er Kubera mit Gewalt besiegte.
There was a wonderful aerial chariot called Pushpaka embellished with all kinds of gems built by Visvakarma for Brahma. It was the same one that Kubera had won from his grandfather, the creator Brahma, through his supreme penance. The lord of ogres acquired it (as a memento for his victory) by defeating Kubera with his might.
FAQs
A key Ramayana contrast is stated: what is gained through tapas (merit and discipline) is dharmically earned, while what is seized by sheer force after defeating another is ethically suspect. The verse frames Rāvaṇa’s possession as power divorced from righteousness.
As Hanumān surveys the palace, the narration identifies the Puṣpaka vimāna and recounts its divine manufacture and the chain of possession from Brahmā to Kubera, and then to Rāvaṇa.
The implied virtue is tapas-based legitimacy (Kubera’s). By contrast, Rāvaṇa exemplifies the vice of appropriation through might—highlighting why dharma, not power alone, is the Ramayana’s measure of rightful rule.