Shloka 3.41.3
मारीचस्य रावणं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः (Maricha’s Counsel on Kingship and Ruin to Ravana)
कस्त्वया सुखिना राजन्नाभिनन्दति पापकृत्।केनेदमुपदिष्टं ते मृत्युद्वारमुपायतः।।।।
kas tvayā sukhinā rājann ābhinandati pāpakṛt | kenedaṃ upadiṣṭaṃ te mṛtyudvāram upāyataḥ ||
O King, what sinner could rejoice at seeing you happy? Who has craftily advised you in this matter—showing you, as it were, the very gate of death?
Which sinner is not able to see you happy? O king! by whom is this gate of deathshown to you cunningly?
Dharma in governance requires discernment about counsel: advice that leads to self-destruction is adharma. The verse warns against being manipulated into ruin by hidden enemies.
Mārīca challenges the origin of Rāvaṇa’s plan, implying that only an enemy would push him toward a course that ends in death.
Viveka (discriminating judgment): a ruler must test advice and motives, not merely follow impulses.