HomeRamayanaYuddha KandaSarga 114Shloka 6.114.56
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Shloka 6.114.56

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

शयनेषुमहार्हेषुशयित्वाराक्षसेश्वर ।।।।इहकर्मात्प्रसुप्तोऽसिधरण्यांरेणुगुण्ठितः ।

śayaneṣu mahārheṣu śayitvā rākṣaseśvara | iha karmāt prasupto'si dharaṇyāṃ reṇuguṇṭhitaḥ ||

O lord of the Rākṣasas! After resting upon the most splendid beds, you now lie here, as if asleep because of your own deeds—on the bare earth, your body covered with dust.

"O Lord of Rakshasas! Having slept on the best of beds, you are now lying here on the hard ground, body covered with dust. Where are you sleeping?"

M
Mandodarī
R
Rāvaṇa
R
Rākṣasas

The verse underscores karma and moral consequence: power and luxury cannot protect one who violates dharma; wrongful action ripens into downfall.

After Rāvaṇa is killed in battle, Mandodarī comes to the battlefield and mournfully addresses his body, contrasting his former royal comforts with his present state.

Mandodarī’s clear-sightedness and moral discernment: even in grief she recognizes the causal force of deeds (karma) behind the tragedy.