Shloka 8
रावण–मारीचसंवादः तथा मृगप्रलोभनपूर्वकं सीताहरणोपक्रमः
Rāvaṇa–Mārīca Dialogue and the Decoy-Deer Prelude to Sītā’s Abduction
त्रयस्त्रिंशत्सहस्राणि योजनानि हिरण्मय: । मेरु: पर्वतराड यत्र देवोद्यानानि मुदूगल,स्वर्गमें तैंतीस हजार योजनका सुवर्णमय एक बहुत ऊँचा पर्वत है जो मेरुगिरिके नामसे विख्यात है। मुद्गल! वहीं देवताओंके नन््दन आदि पवित्र उद्यान तथा पुण्यात्मा पुरुषोंके विहारस्थल हैं। वहाँ किसीको भूख-प्यास नहीं लगती, मनमें कभी ग्लानि नहीं होती, गरमी और जाड़ेका कष्ट भी नहीं होता और न कोई भय ही होता है
trayastrīṁśat-sahasrāṇi yojanāni hiraṇmayaḥ | meruḥ parvatarāḍ yatra devodyānāni mudgala ||
The divine messenger said: “Mudgala, there stands a golden mountain named Meru, the king of mountains, rising to a measure of thirty-three thousand yojanas. There, around it, lie the sacred gardens of the gods—such as Nandana—and the pleasure-grounds where the righteous dwell. In that realm no one is afflicted by hunger or thirst; the mind knows no remorse or dejection; neither heat nor cold causes distress, and fear finds no place.”
देवदूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts worldly suffering with the fruit of righteousness: a meritorious, dharmic life is portrayed as leading to a realm free from bodily want and mental affliction, emphasizing the ethical value of cultivating virtue that yields peace and fearlessness.
A divine messenger is describing to Mudgala the celestial region associated with Meru—its vast golden form and the gods’ sacred gardens—highlighting the conditions of heaven where hunger, thirst, grief, climatic distress, and fear do not arise.