Shloka 4.31.3

लक्ष्मणक्रोधः सुग्रीवप्रबोधनं च (Lakshmana’s Wrath and the Summoning of Sugriva)

Devanagari script

मतिक्षयाद्ग्राम्यसुखेषु सक्तस्तव प्रसादाप्रतिकारबुद्धिः।हतोऽग्रजं पश्यतु वीर तस्यन राज्यमेवं विगुणस्य देयम्।।

Transliteration

matikṣayād grāmyasukheṣu saktaḥ tava prasādāpratikārabuddhiḥ | hato ’grajaṃ paśyatu vīra tasya na rājyam evaṃ viguṇasya deyam ||

Translation

“O hero! His mind has waned and he clings to coarse pleasures, ungrateful and unwilling to repay your favor. Let him behold his elder brother slain. Kingship should not be granted to one so bereft of virtue.”

Context

'O hero! he is too ungrateful to return the favour done to him, Engaged in rustic, vulgar pleasures, he is not thinking of it. Let him see his killed elder brother. Kingship should not be given to an individual who is a destitute of virtues.

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmaṇa (probable speaker)
• Rāma (probable addressee)
• Sugrīva (implied target of criticism)
• Vāli (implied as the slain elder brother of Sugrīva)

FAQs

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

Gratitude and reciprocity are ethical duties: receiving help creates an obligation to respond truthfully and timely; ungrateful enjoyment is condemned as adharma.

What is the narrative situation?

In the tension over Sugrīva’s delay, a harsh admonition argues that kingship is unfit for one who forgets duty after gaining power.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Commitment to satya and duty—insisting that authority must be grounded in virtue, not pleasure or opportunism.