Valmiki Ramayana 2.9.45: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 9, Shloka 45

मन्थराप्रेरणा · वरद्वय-स्मरणं च

Manthara’s Provocation and the Recalling of Two Boons

Spoken by Kaikeyi to MantharaSetting: अयोध्या (antaḥpura)

Devanagari script

आसन्याश्शम्बरे मायास्सहस्रमसुराधिपे ॥४५॥

सर्वास्त्वयि निविष्टास्ता भूयश्चान्यास्सहस्रशः ।

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.9.45

Transliteration

āsanyāḥ śambare māyāḥ sahasram asurādhipe ||45||

sarvāḥ tvayi niviṣṭās tā bhūyaś cānyāḥ sahasraśaḥ |

Translation

അസുരാധിപനായ ശംബരനു ഉണ്ടായിരുന്ന ആയിരം മായകൾ—അവയെല്ലാം നിനക്കുള്ളിൽ നിവസിക്കുന്നു; അതിനുമപ്പുറം വീണ്ടും ആയിരങ്ങളോളം കൂടി ഉണ്ട്.

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Word by Word

• āsan: were
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Laṅ-lakāra (लङ्/Imperfect past), Prathama-puruṣa, Bahuvacana; parasmaipada
• Role: Kriyā (क्रिया)

• yāḥ: which/that (f.pl.)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; relative pronoun referring to 'māyāḥ'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• śambare: O Śambara
• Type: Noun
• Root: śambara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)

• māyāḥ: magical deceptions/illusions
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• sahasram: a thousand
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; numeral used as count
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/संख्या)

• asurādhipe: O lord of the Asuras
• Type: Noun
• Root: asura-adhipa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa: asura + adhipa; Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana
• Role: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Compound: Tatpurusha

• sarvāḥ: all
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; qualifying 'tāḥ (māyāḥ)'
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)

• tvayi: in you
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Saptamī (7/सप्तमी), Ekavacana
• Role: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)

• niviṣṭāḥ: entered/settled
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni-viś (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kta-participle, Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; predicate adjective of 'māyāḥ'
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण/भाव)

• tāḥ: those
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; resumptive pronoun for 'māyāḥ'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• bhūyaḥ: more/further
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, adverb (पुनः/अधिकम्)
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)

• anyāḥ: other
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; qualifying implied 'māyāḥ'
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)

• sahasraśaḥ: by thousands/in thousands
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, distributive adverb (प्रकार/परिमाण)
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण)

Sandhi Notes

• yāśśambare = yāḥ + śambare
• māyāssahasram = māyāḥ + sahasram
• sarvāstvayi = sarvāḥ + tvayi
• niviṣṭāstā = niviṣṭāḥ + tāḥ
• bhūyaścānyāssahasraśaḥ = bhūyaḥ + ca + anyāḥ + sahasraśaḥ

Context

In you reside a thousand deceitful means more than all the thousand mayas (tricks) of Sambara, king of the asuras, was capable of.

The teaching

Duties in tension

• धर्मनीति vs. मायानीति (ethical governance vs deception)
• राज्य-हित vs. व्यक्तिगत-हित

Ethical theme

अधर्म-उपाय/कपट

Mood and themes

Rasa

Adbhuta (wonder), with Bhayanaka (fear)

Mood

Hyperbolic, ominous, admiring

Themes

• Dharma
• Satya
• Itihasa
• Ethics
• Flattery
• Deception (Māyā)
• Adharma

Symbolism

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Śambara
• Asuras
• Mantharā
• Kaikeyī

FAQs

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

The verse cautions against praising deceit as ‘skill.’ In dharmic terms, manipulation (māyā used for harm) corrupts judgment and leads to unrighteous outcomes.

What is the narrative situation?

Kaikeyī, influenced by Mantharā, flatters her by comparing her craftiness to the famed demon Śambara’s illusions.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

A distorted ‘virtue’—cleverness—is celebrated, but the epic frames such cleverness as morally dangerous when severed from satya (truth) and dharma.