Shloka 3.41.6

मारीचस्य रावणं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः (Maricha’s Counsel on Kingship and Ruin to Ravana)

Devanagari script

वध्याः खलु न हन्यन्ते सचिवास्तव रावण।ये त्वामुत्पथमारूढं न निगृह्णन्ति सर्वशः।।।।

Transliteration

vadhyāḥ khalu na hanyante sacivās tava rāvaṇa | ye tvām utpatham ārūḍhaṃ na nigṛhṇanti sarvaśaḥ ||

Translation

O Rāvaṇa, your ministers indeed deserve death—yet they are not slain—those who do not restrain you by every means when you have mounted the wrong path.

Context

O Ravana! the ministers should have prevented you by all means from adopting this wrong path. Since they have not done so, they deserve to be spain.

Characters & Entities

• Mārīca
• Rāvaṇa
• Ministers of Rāvaṇa

FAQs

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

Dharma for ministers is loyal restraint: they must prevent the king from adharma even at personal risk. Silence in the face of the ruler’s wrong course is treated as culpable.

What is the narrative situation?

Mārīca rebukes the court around Rāvaṇa for failing to stop him from pursuing a disastrous, unrighteous plan.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Courageous counsel (nīti-dhairya): the moral strength to oppose a powerful leader’s harmful decision.