Shloka 6.114.32
रावणस्य अन्त्येष्टिः — Ravana’s Funeral Rites and the Ethics of Post-War Conduct
अल्पपुण्यात्वहंघोरेपतिताशोकसागरे ।कैलासेमन्दरेमेरौतथाचैत्ररथेवने ।।6.114.31।।देवोद्यानेषुसर्वेषुविहृत्यसहितात्वया ।विमानेनानुरूपेणयायाम्यतुलयाश्रिया ।।6.114.32।।पश्यन्तिविविधान्देशांस्तांस्तांश्चित्रस्रगम्बरा ।भ्रम्शिताकामभोगेभ्यःसास्मिवीरवधात्तव ।।6.114.33।।सैवान्येवास्मिसम्वृत्ताधिग्राज्ञांचञ्चलाःश्रियः ।
hā rājan sukumāraṃ te subhru sutvak samunnasam |
kāntiśrīdyutibhis tulyam indupadmadivākaraiḥ ||
kirīṭakūṭojjvalitaṃ tāmrāsyaṃ dīptakuṇḍalam |
madavyākulalolākṣaṃ bhūtvā yat pānabhūmiṣu ||
vividhasragdharaṃ cāru valgu-smita-kathaṃ śubham |
tad evādya tavaivaṃ hi vaktraṃ na bhrājate prabho ||
rāmasāyakanirbhinnaṃ raktaṃ rudhiravisravaiḥ |
vīśīrṇa-medomastiṣkaṃ rūkṣa-syandana-reṇubhiḥ ||
Alas, O king, my lord—your face once so delicate, with beautiful brows, shining skin and a prominent nose, radiant like the moon, the lotus, and the sun; crowned with brilliance, with coppery lips and glowing earrings; with eyes unsteady from wine in the drinking halls; lovely, adorned with many garlands, auspicious, and full of charming smiles and speech—today that very face does not shine. It is pierced by Rāma’s arrows, smeared with flowing blood; marrow and brain are scattered, and it is dulled and dirtied by the dust of chariots.
"O Hero! Whose stock of merit was less, that you have tumbled down into an ocean of grief. I, having sported with you, clad in picturesque robes and the like, by the aerial car Chaitra ratha on mount Kailasa, Mount Meru and Mandara as well as in divine gardens all over, and various lands with matchless splendour, have been deprived of sensual pleasures because of your falling down. What a pity I am surrounded by ordinary women changed into another woman with fleeting fortunes!"
External beauty and royal magnificence are transient; Dharma emphasizes inner virtue and right action over intoxication, indulgence, and pride. The verse speaks satya plainly: the body’s glory ends, and adharma leads to ruin.
Mandodarī stands over Rāvaṇa’s slain body, contrasting his former splendor and courtly pleasures with the brutal reality of his death by Rāma’s arrows.
Truthful lament and moral clarity: Mandodarī does not romanticize the end; she recognizes the impermanence of sensual life and the decisive force of righteous retribution.