HomeRamayanaYuddha KandaSarga 113Shloka 6.113.18
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Shloka 6.113.18

रावणवधदर्शनम् — Lament of the Rākṣasa Women upon Seeing Rāvaṇa Slain

अशृण्वतातुसुहृदांसततंहितवादिनाम् ।मरणायहृतासीताराक्षसाश्चनिपातिताः ।।।।एतास्सममिदानींतेवयमात्मा च पातितः ।

aśṛṇvatā tu suhṛdāṃ satataṃ hitavādinām |

maraṇāya hṛtā sītā rākṣasāś ca nipātitāḥ ||6.113.18||

etāḥ samam idānīṃ te vayam ātmā ca pātitaḥ |

Because you did not heed your well-wishers who ever spoke what was beneficial, you abducted Sītā only to meet death; and the Rākṣasas too have been struck down. Now, together, you—along with us all, and even your very self—have fallen into ruin.

"You did not listen to the good advice of your dear and good at heart. You brought Sita and destroyed yourself and all of us at a time."

S
Sītā
R
Rākṣasas
W
well-wishers (suhṛd)
L
Laṅkā (implied)
R
Rāvaṇa

Ignoring truthful, beneficial counsel (hitavacana) and violating another’s marital sanctity leads to collective ruin; adharma in leadership destroys both self and society.

The women explicitly connect Laṅkā’s devastation to Rāvaṇa’s refusal to heed well-wishers and his abduction of Sītā.

The virtue of listening to wise counsel—humility and receptivity to satya (truth)—is emphasized by its absence in Rāvaṇa.