Shloka 3
रावणस्य अन्त्येष्टिः
Ravana’s Funeral Rites and the Ethics of Post-War Conduct
ननुनाममहाबाहोतववैश्रवणानुज ।क्रुद्धस्यप्रमुखेस्थातुंत्रस्यत्यपिपुरन्दरः ।।।।
nanu nāma mahābāho tava vaiśravaṇānuja |
kruddhasya pramukhe sthātuṃ trasyaty api purandaraḥ ||
Ist es nicht weithin bekannt, o Mächtigarmer—o jüngerer Bruder Vaiśravaṇas—dass, wenn du erzürnst, selbst Purandara (Indra) davor zurückschreckt, vor dir zu stehen?
"Death does not happen without reason for any being. To you this happened because of getting Mythili."
FAQs
Worldly power and fear-based dominance are unstable; Dharma is not measured by who fears you, but by restraint and righteous conduct. The verse implicitly critiques pride (mada) that mistakes strength for moral worth.
After Rāvaṇa’s fall in battle, Mandodarī laments and recalls his former might—so great that even Indra feared him—contrasting past glory with present ruin.
Not a virtue of Rāvaṇa but a lesson for the listener: humility and self-restraint are the virtues implied as missing; the verse highlights the danger of unchecked anger and arrogance.