Shloka 5.26.30

सीताविलापः — Sita’s Lament and Prophecy of Lanka’s Ruin

Devanagari script

पुण्योत्सवसमुत्था च नष्टभर्त्री सराक्षसी।भविष्यति पुरी लङ्का नष्टभर्त्री यथाङ्गना।।।।

Transliteration

puṇyotsavasamutthā ca naṣṭabhartrī sarākṣasī |

bhaviṣyati purī laṅkā naṣṭabhartrī yathāṅganā ||

Translation

Laṅkā-city—though raised up in auspicious festivities—will become husbandless, along with its rākṣasī women, like a woman bereft of her lord.

Context

"This city of Lanka with many auspicious celebrations will lose its king and all mean ogresses will remain like widows.

Characters & Entities

• Laṅkā
• rākṣasī (ogresses)

FAQs

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

External prosperity and celebration cannot shield a polity founded on unrighteousness; dharma, not spectacle, sustains true stability.

What is the narrative situation?

Sītā foretells that Laṅkā’s grandeur will collapse with the fall of its ruler, leaving its women in grief.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Sītā’s unwavering moral conviction: she interprets political power through the lens of dharma and its consequences.