Shloka 3.53.6

सीताविलापः रावणनिन्दा च (Sita’s Lament and Condemnation of Ravana)

Devanagari script

परमं खलु ते वीर्यं दृश्यते राक्षसाधम।विश्राव्य नामधेयं हि युद्धे नास्मि जिता त्वया।।3.53.6।।

Transliteration

kathayiṣyanti lokeṣu puruṣāḥ karma kutsitam |

sunṛśaṃsam adharmiṣṭhaṃ tava śauṇḍīrya-māninaḥ ||3.53.8||

Translation

People across the world will speak of your deed as contemptible—cruel and utterly against dharma—though you imagine yourself to be heroic.

Context

O lowly demon, you have, indeed, shown your heroism (in killing this old vulture).You have not won me in a battle declared by you.

Characters & Entities

• Sītā (Vaidehī)
• Rāvaṇa
• loka (the world/people)

FAQs

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

Dharma includes accountability before society and conscience: cruel acts bring lasting blame. Moral truth outlives power and self-image.

What is the narrative situation?

Sītā warns Rāvaṇa that public memory will condemn his act as cruel and unrighteous.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Sītā’s moral discernment and her appeal to loka-nīti (social-ethical judgment) as a restraint on adharma.