Shloka 3.29.5

अरण्यकाण्डे एकोनत्रिंशः सर्गः (Sarga 29: Rama’s Admonition to Khara and the Shattering of the Mace)

Devanagari script

लोभात्पापानि कुर्वाणः कामाद्वा यो न बुध्यते।भ्रष्टः पश्यति तस्यान्तं ब्राह्मणी करकादिव।।।।

Transliteration

lobhāt pāpāni kurvāṇaḥ kāmād vā yo na budhyate |

bhraṣṭaḥ paśyati tasyāntaṃ brāhmaṇī karakād iva ||

Translation

Whoever, driven by greed or passion, commits sinful acts without understanding their wrongness—such a person is ruined and, in the end, comes to destruction, like a lizard that swallows a hailstone.

Context

Whoever commits sinful deeds out of greed or passion and without realisation will be ruined at the end like a lizard that eats hailstone (and dies).

Characters & Entities

• brāhmaṇī (lizard)
• karaka (hailstone)

FAQs

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

Dharma here is moral discernment (buddhi) restraining lobha (greed) and kāma (passion). Acting without such awareness leads inevitably to self-destruction.

What is the narrative situation?

A hermitage-based admonition is being delivered to a rākṣasa, warning that sinful violence and indulgence carry an inevitable end-result.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Moral clarity and self-control—choosing restraint and right understanding over impulse-driven wrongdoing.