Shloka 16

युद्धकाण्डे द्वितीयः सर्गः — Sugriva’s Counsel: From Grief to Strategy

Bridge to Lanka

Devanagari script

शूराणांहिमनुष्याणांत्वद्विधानांमहात्मनाम् ।विनष्टेवाप्रणष्टेवाशोकस्सर्वार्थनाशनः ।।।।

Transliteration

śūrāṇāṃ hi manuṣyāṇāṃ tvadvidhānāṃ mahātmanām |

vinaṣṭe vā praṇaṣṭe vā śokaḥ sarvārtha-nāśanaḥ ||

Translation

Car pour les hommes vaillants—grandes âmes telles que toi—s’ils cèdent au chagrin pour ce qui est détruit ou perdu, ce chagrin devient la ruine de toute entreprise.

Word by Word

• śūrāṇām: of the heroes
• śūrāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th), Bahuvacana

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, emphatic particle

• manuṣyāṇām: of men
• manuṣyāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th), Bahuvacana

• tvadvidhānām: of those like you
• tvadvidhānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tvad + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: tvad-vidha = "like you"; qualifying "manuṣyāṇām"

• mahātmanām: of great-souled (ones)
• mahātmanām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Bahuvacana; karmadhāraya: "great-souled"; qualifying the same group

• vinaṣṭe: when destroyed
• vinaṣṭe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi√naś (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta past passive participle (क्त), Saptamī (7th), Ekavacana, Napuṃsaka/locative absolute sense; used in locative absolute with implied "(kārye/arth e)" = "when (something) is destroyed"

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, disjunctive particle

• praṇaṣṭe: when lost
• praṇaṣṭe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra√naś (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta PPP (क्त), Saptamī, Ekavacana; parallel locative absolute: "when lost"

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, disjunctive particle

• śokaḥ: sorrow
• śokaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• sarvārthanāśanaḥ: destroyer of all purposes
• sarvārthanāśanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/predicate of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + artha + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: "destroyer of all aims"; predicate adjective of "śokaḥ"

Context

"If you who are great among the valiant ones worry for that which is destroyed or lost, it would lead to disaster of everything."

Characters & Entities

• Grief (Śoka)

FAQs

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

Dharma is responsibility over personal sorrow: a righteous leader must not let private grief sabotage the collective good and the mission of justice.

What is the narrative situation?

Rāma is being reminded that lamenting loss weakens the campaign; steadiness is required to complete the rescue and confront adharma.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Kṣānti with steadiness—endurance that refuses to collapse into despair.