Shloka 5.41.16

प्रमदावनविध्वंसः | The Devastation of the Pleasure-Garden (Ashoka Vatika)

Devanagari script

तद्वनं मथितैर्वृक्षैर्भिन्नैश्च सलिलाशयैः।चूर्णितैः पर्वताग्रैश्च बभूवाप्रियदर्शनम्।।।।

Transliteration

tatas tu hanumān vīro babhañja pramadāvanam |

mattadvija-samāghuṣṭaṃ nānā-druma-latā-yutam ||

Translation

Thereupon the hero Hanumān shattered the pleasure-grove, resounding with the cries of birds as if intoxicated, and filled with many kinds of trees and creepers.

Context

That garden looked ugly with uprooted trees, breached ponds and powdered mountain peaks.

Characters & Entities

• Hanumān
• pramadā-vana (pleasure garden)
• birds (dvija)
• trees and creepers

FAQs

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

It underscores that spaces built upon adharma (Rāvaṇa’s unlawful enjoyment) become legitimate sites of disruption when justice must be asserted; dharma may demand symbolic and strategic destruction.

What is the narrative situation?

Hanumān intensifies his rampage, breaking the pleasure-garden within/near Aśoka-vana to provoke the rākṣasa response.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Fearlessness and strategic intent—his destruction is also a deliberate challenge to draw out enemies.