Shloka 6.114.6

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

Devanagari script

कथंत्रैलोक्यमाक्रम्यश्रियावीर्येणचान्वितम् ।अविषह्यंजघानत्वांमानुषोवनगोचरः ।।।।

Transliteration

kasmāt tvaṃ māṃ vihāyeha kṛpaṇāṃ gantum icchasi | dīnāṃ vilapatīṃ mandāṃ kiṃ vā māṃ nābhibhāṣase ||

Translation

Why do you wish to go, leaving me here—wretched and helpless—poor, weeping, and broken? Why do you not speak even a word to me?

Context

"Winning the three worlds by your valour, you are glorious, irresistible and beyond reach. How did the wanderer in the forest strike you?"

Characters & Entities

• Mandodarī
• Rāvaṇa

FAQs

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

The verse points to the fragility of worldly bonds and the duty of a ruler to protect dependents—duty that collapses when one chooses adharma and meets destruction.

What is the narrative situation?

Mandodarī addresses the silent body of Rāvaṇa, experiencing his death as abandonment and unanswered speech.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Emotional truthfulness: she voices raw grief without ornament, revealing the human consequence of war and wrongdoing.