Shloka 8
मारीचोपदेश
प्रतिषेधः / Ravana Rejects Maricha’s Counsel and Orders the Golden Deer Deception
दोषं गुणं वा सम्पृष्टस्त्वमेवं वक्तुमर्हसि।अपायं वाप्युपायं वा कार्यस्यास्य विनिश्चये।।3.40.8।।
doṣaṃ guṇaṃ vā sampṛṣṭas tvam evaṃ vaktum arhasi |
apāyaṃ vāpy upāyaṃ vā kāryasyāsya viniścaye ||3.40.8||
ദോഷമോ ഗുണമോ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ഈ കാര്യത്തിന്റെ തീരുമാനത്തിൽ അപകടമോ ഉപായമോ എന്നിങ്ങനെ ചോദിച്ചിരുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ മാത്രമേ നീ ഇങ്ങനെ പറയുന്നത് യുക്തമായിരുന്നുള്ളൂ.
O Maricha ! I have made up my mind that way. Even demons or deities including Indra cannot alter this decision of mine.
FAQs
It gestures toward a norm of counsel in governance (rājadharma): advice should be offered in a proper consultative frame. Ironically, Rāvaṇa uses this to silence dharmic warning rather than to seek truth.
Rāvaṇa rebukes Mārīca for advising him unbidden, framing counsel as appropriate only when requested.
The administrative virtue is disciplined counsel and procedure; the episode also warns that procedure can be misused to avoid moral accountability.