Shloka 6.114.42
रावणस्य अन्त्येष्टिः — Ravana’s Funeral Rites and the Ethics of Post-War Conduct
स्निग्धेन्द्रनीलनीलंतुप्रांशुशैलोपमंमहत् ।।।।केयूराङ्गदवैडूर्यमुक्ताहारस्रगुज्ज्वलम् ।कान्तंविहारेष्वधिकंदीप्तांसङ्ग्रामभूमिषु ।।।।भात्याभरणभाभिर्यद्विद्युद्भिरिवतोयदः ।तदेवाद्यशरीरंतेतीक्ष्णैर्नैकशरैश्चितम् ।।।।पुनर्दुर्लभसम्पर्शंपरिष्वक्तुं न शक्यते ।श्वाविधःशलकैर्यद्वद्भाणैर्लग्नैर्निरन्तरम् ।।।।स्वर्पितैर्मर्मसुभृशंसञ्छिन्नस्नायुबन्धनम् ।क्षितौनिपतितंराजन् श्यामंवैरुधिरच्छवि ।।।।वज्रप्रहाराभिहतोविकीर्णइवपर्वतः ।
snigdhendra-nīla-nīlaṃ tu prāṃśu-śailopamaṃ mahat |
keyūrāṅgada-vaiḍūrya-muktāhāra-srag-ujjvalam |
kāntaṃ vihāreṣv adhikaṃ dīptaṃ saṅgrāma-bhūmiṣu |
bhāty ābharaṇa-bhābhir yad vidyudbhir iva toyadaḥ |
tad evādya śarīraṃ te tīkṣṇair naika-śaraiś citam |
punar durlabha-samparśaṃ pariṣvaktuṃ na śakyate |
śvāvidhaḥ śalakaiḥ yadvad bhāṇair lagnair nirantaram |
svarpitair marmasu bhṛśaṃ sañchinna-snāyu-bandhanam |
kṣitau nipatitaṃ rājan śyāmaṃ vai rudhira-chavi |
vajra-prahārābhihato vikīrṇa iva parvataḥ ||
O king, your body—vast as a lofty mountain, dark and glossy like indranīla sapphire—once shone with armlets, ornaments, cat’s-eye gems, pearls, and garlands, charming in leisure and blazing in battle, like a rain-cloud lit by lightning. That very body is today packed with countless sharp arrows; it is hard even to touch, and cannot be embraced again. Like a porcupine bristling with spikes, it is covered everywhere with darts and arrows driven into the vital parts, with sinews and joints torn apart. Fallen upon the earth, dark and blood-stained, it lies shattered like a mountain struck by a thunderbolt.
"O king! Your body which is gigantic like a mountain, dark like a sapphire adorned with Keyuras, Angadas, necklaces of cat's eye gems and pearls, which were charming when in the battlefield, and shone brightly on your body with the lustre of your jewels like a rainy cloud with flashes of lightning. It is fixed with numerous arrows cut into pieces by darts and difficult to touch. Since the darts are inserted deep into your vital parts, it is not possible to perform ablution. It is dark, soaked in blood, broken, and crushed like a mountain hit by thunderbolt. Alas, it is not possible to embrace."
It teaches satya about the fragility of embodied power: beauty, wealth, and martial glory end in ruin; dharma urges restraint and right conduct before irreversible consequences.
Mandodarī describes Rāvaṇa’s fallen, arrow-pierced body on the battlefield, lamenting that she can no longer embrace him.
Clear-eyed realism amid grief: she confronts the physical truth of death, not hiding behind royal grandeur.