HomeRamayanaKishkindha KandaSarga 35Shloka 4.35.6
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Shloka 4.35.6

तारोपदेशः — Tara’s Counsel to Lakshmana (Restraint, Time, and Mobilization)

सुदुःखं शयितः पूर्वं प्राप्येदं सुखमुत्तमम्।प्राप्तकालं न जानीते विश्वामित्रो यथा मुनिः।।।।

suduḥkhaṃ śayitaḥ pūrvaṃ prāpye daṃ sukham uttamam | prāpta-kālaṃ na jānīte viśvāmitro yathā muniḥ ||

After lying long in great misery, having now obtained this highest happiness, he does not recognize that the time for action has arrived—like the sage Viśvāmitra.

'Sleep did not come to him in deep distress in the past, and now that great happinesshas come, he does not realize that it is time to act (search for Sita). He behaves like sage Viswamitra.

T
Tārā
L
Lakṣmaṇa
S
Sugrīva (implied as 'he')
V
Viśvāmitra

Dharma requires acting at the proper time (kāla): even rightful happiness becomes adharma if it makes one neglect urgent duty.

Tārā explains Sugrīva’s delay as a lapse born from sudden relief and pleasure after suffering, illustrated through the example of Viśvāmitra.

Tārā’s moral psychology and sense of timing: she distinguishes weakness from wickedness and urges correction rather than rage.