Shloka 3.55.37
रावणस्य सीताप्रलोभनम् (Ravana’s Attempt to Allure Sita)
एवमुक्त्वा दशग्रीवो मैथिलीं जनकात्मजाम्।।3.55.37।।कृतान्तवशमापन्नो ममेयमिति मन्यते।
evam uktvā daśagrīvo maithilīṃ janakātmajām | kṛtānta-vaśam āpanno mamaiyam iti manyate || 3.55.37 ||
Having spoken thus to Maithilī, Janaka’s daughter, Daśagrīva—fallen under the power of Death—imagined in delusion, “She is mine.”
Having said this to the daughter of Janaka, the ten-headed Ravana who had fallen under the control of Yama, lord of death, misconceived that she had become his own.ইতযার্ষ শ্রীমদ্রামাযণে বাল্মীকীয আদিকাব্যে অরণ্যকাণ্ডে পঞ্চপঞ্চাশস্সর্গঃ৷৷Thus ends the fiftyfifth sarga of Aranyakanda of the holy Ramayana the first epic composed by sage Valmiki.
Adharma culminates in delusion and downfall: treating a person as property (“she is mine”) violates dharma and leads the wrongdoer toward inevitable consequence (kṛtānta’s grasp).
The narrator concludes this segment by stating Rāvaṇa’s inner misconception after his speech—he believes Sītā will belong to him, even as fate turns against him.
The virtue emphasized by contrast is respect for personhood and rightful relationship—central to Rāma–Sītā dharma—while Rāvaṇa embodies possessiveness and moral blindness.