Shloka 3.55.36
रावणस्य सीताप्रलोभनम् (Ravana’s Attempt to Allure Sita)
इमाश्शून्य मया वाचश्शुष्यमाणेन भाषिताः।।3.55.36।।न चापि रावणः काञ्चिन्मूर्ध्ना स्त्रीं प्रणमेत ह।
imāḥ śūnyā mayā vācaḥ śuṣyamāṇena bhāṣitāḥ | na cāpi rāvaṇaḥ kāñcin mūrdhnā strīṃ praṇameta ha || 3.55.36 ||
These empty words have I spoken with a parched throat. For Rāvaṇa has never bowed his head in reverence to any woman.
My throat has dried up. I have spoken these words in a forlorn state. Ravana has never bowed down to a woman in obeisance.
The verse exposes ego as a driver of adharma: pride in domination (never bowing) conflicts with dharma’s humility and respect toward others.
After feigning submission, Rāvaṇa undercuts it by asserting his exceptional pride and unprecedented act, revealing the coercive posture behind his words.
By contrast, dharmic virtue—humility and self-control—is shown as absent in Rāvaṇa, sharpening the moral opposition between him and the righteous ideal.