Shloka 11
रावणोत्पत्तिः—तपसा वरलाभश्च
Rāvaṇa’s Origins and the Acquisition of Boons
उक्तो रात्रौ मृगैरस्मि स्वप्रान्ते हतशेषितै: । तन्तुभूता: सम भद्रें ते दया न: क्रियतामिति,इस प्रकार रात बीतनेपर जब सबेरे उनकी नींद खुली, तब वे नृपतिशिरोमणि हिंसक पशुओंके प्रति दयाभावसे द्रवित हो अपने सब भाइयोंसे बोले--“बन्धुओ! रातको सपनेमें मरनेसे बचे हुए इस वनके पशुओंने मुझसे कहा है--'राजन्! आपका भला हो। हम अपनी वंशपरम्पराके एक-एक तलन््तुमात्र शेष रह गये हैं। अब हमलोगोंपर दया कीजिये'
ukto rātrau mṛgair asmi svapnānte hataśeṣitaiḥ | tantubhūtāḥ sma bhadre te dayā naḥ kriyatām iti ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “In the night, at the end of a dream, I was addressed by the deer—those left as mere survivors after slaughter. They said, ‘O noble one, may you prosper. We have been reduced to only thread-like remnants of our lineage. Show us compassion.’” In the morning, when sleep left them, the king—his heart softened by pity toward the wild creatures—spoke to his brothers, conveying this plea for mercy.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dayā (compassion) as a royal and ethical duty: even wild creatures, when reduced to near-extinction, become objects of protection rather than exploitation. It implies restraint in violence and attentiveness to the suffering caused by human action.
A king reports a dream in which deer—survivors of slaughter—plead that their lineage has been reduced to a mere trace and ask for mercy. On waking, moved by compassion, he tells his brothers, using the dream as a moral prompt to change their conduct toward the animals.