Shloka 18
रावणवधदर्शनम्
Lament of the Rākṣasa Women upon Seeing Rāvaṇa Slain
अशृण्वतातुसुहृदांसततंहितवादिनाम् ।मरणायहृतासीताराक्षसाश्चनिपातिताः ।।।।एतास्सममिदानींतेवयमात्मा च पातितः ।
aśṛṇvatā tu suhṛdāṃ satataṃ hitavādinām |
maraṇāya hṛtā sītā rākṣasāś ca nipātitāḥ ||6.113.18||
etāḥ samam idānīṃ te vayam ātmā ca pātitaḥ |
तूने सदा हित बोलने वाले सुहृदों की बात नहीं मानी; मृत्यु के लिए ही तूने सीता का हरण किया, और राक्षस भी मारे गए। अब हम सब, और तू स्वयं भी—सब एक साथ पतन को प्राप्त हुए हैं।
"You did not listen to the good advice of your dear and good at heart. You brought Sita and destroyed yourself and all of us at a time."
FAQs
Ignoring truthful, beneficial counsel (hitavacana) and violating another’s marital sanctity leads to collective ruin; adharma in leadership destroys both self and society.
The women explicitly connect Laṅkā’s devastation to Rāvaṇa’s refusal to heed well-wishers and his abduction of Sītā.
The virtue of listening to wise counsel—humility and receptivity to satya (truth)—is emphasized by its absence in Rāvaṇa.