Shloka 6.114.1

रावणस्य अन्त्येष्टिः — Ravana’s Funeral Rites and the Ethics of Post-War Conduct

Devanagari script

तासांविलपमानानांतदाराक्षसयोषिताम् ।ज्येष्ठापत्नीप्रियाजीनाभर्तारंसमुदैक्षत ।।।।

Transliteration

tāsāṃ vilapamānānāṃ tadā rākṣasayoṣitām |

jyeṣṭhā patnī priyā dīnā bhartāraṃ samudaikṣata ||

Translation

As those rākṣasa women lamented, the elder wife—beloved and wretched with sorrow—looked upon her husband.

Context

Then from among the wives lamenting, the first wife, dear to Ravana gazed at her husband lamenting piteously.

Characters & Entities

• Rāvaṇa
• rākṣasa women
• Rāvaṇa’s senior/elder queen (unnamed here)

FAQs

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

Dharma is illuminated indirectly: private suffering follows public wrongdoing. The epic shows how adharma harms not only the doer but also dependents and family.

What is the narrative situation?

A shift of focus occurs among the lamenting women: the senior queen, overcome with grief, fixes her gaze upon her fallen husband.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Steadfast attachment and the solemnity of marital bond are foregrounded—her attention remains on her husband even in ruin.