Shloka 23
मारीचाश्रमगमनम्
Ravana’s Journey to Maricha’s Hermitage
पुष्पाणि च तमालस्य गुल्मानि मरिचस्य च।मुक्तानां च समूहानि शुष्यमाणानि तीरतः।।।।
puṣpāṇi ca tamālasya gulmāni maricasya ca |
muktānāṁ ca samūhāni śuṣyamāṇāni tīrataḥ ||
Vio las flores del tamāla, los matorrales de pimienta, y montones de perlas tendidas a secar junto a la orilla.
(He saw) tamala flowers in bloom, pepper shrubs in clusters and hoards of pearls kept for drying on the shores.
FAQs
The verse foregrounds wealth and sensory allure (pearls, spices, blossoms). In Ramayana ethics, such objects test self-mastery: dharma is maintained when desire does not override righteousness.
Rāvaṇa’s travel is portrayed through vivid snapshots of flora and coastal wealth (pearls drying on the shore).
Implicitly, the virtue of restraint is invoked by contrast: the environment offers temptations, and the epic later judges characters by how they respond to desire.