Shloka 58
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
अनेन वीर्येण कथं स्त्रियं प्रार्थथसे बलात्,“राजकुमार! लौटो, तुम्हें पीठ दिखाकर भागना शोभा नहीं देता। अपने सेवकोंको शत्रुओंके बीचमें छोड़कर कैसे भागे जा रहे हो? क्या इसी बलसे तुम दूसरेकी स्त्रीको बलपूर्वक हरकर ले जाना चाहते थे?”
anena vīryeṇa kathaṃ striyaṃ prārthathase balāt | rājaputra! lauto, tvāṃ pṛṣṭhaṃ darśayitvā palāyanaṃ na śobhate | sva-sevakān śatrūṇāṃ madhye parityajya kathaṃ palāyase | kim anenaiva balena parasya striyaṃ balād āhṛtya netum icchasi ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「そのような『武勇』で、どうして女を力ずくで求めようというのか。王子よ、引き返せ――背を見せて逃げるのは相応しくない。どうして敵のただ中に自らの従者を置き去りにして走り去れるのだ。まさにその力で、他人の妻を奪い、暴力で連れ去ろうとしたのか？」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True valor is inseparable from dharma: a warrior should not flee dishonorably, should not abandon his dependents in danger, and should never justify the forcible taking of another man’s wife as an act of strength.
The speaker rebukes a prince who is retreating from enemies while leaving his own attendants behind, exposing the hypocrisy of claiming ‘heroism’ while attempting (or intending) to seize a woman by force.