Shloka 30

सीताविलापः

Sita’s Lament and Prophecy of Lanka’s Ruin

Devanagari script

पुण्योत्सवसमुत्था च नष्टभर्त्री सराक्षसी।भविष्यति पुरी लङ्का नष्टभर्त्री यथाङ्गना।।।।

Transliteration

puṇyotsavasamutthā ca naṣṭabhartrī sarākṣasī |

bhaviṣyati purī laṅkā naṣṭabhartrī yathāṅganā ||

Translation

പുണ്യോത്സവങ്ങളുടെ വൈഭവത്തിൽ ഉയർന്ന ലങ്കാപുരിയും, രാക്ഷസീ സ്ത്രീകളോടുകൂടി, സ്വാമിവിഹീനയായി മാറും—ഭർത്താവിനെ നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട സ്ത്രീപോലെ.

Word by Word

• पुण्योत्सवसमुत्था: arising from auspicious festivities
• पुण्योत्सवसमुत्था: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य + उत्सव + समुत्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (पुण्य-उत्सवात् समुत्था/समुत्थिता), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate adjective of पुरी लङ्का

• च: and
• च: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction

• नष्टभर्त्री: having lost her lord
• नष्टभर्त्री: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नष्ट + भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः बहुव्रीहि (नष्टः भर्ता यस्याः), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate adjective of लङ्का

• सराक्षसी: together with the ogresses
• सराक्षसी: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय-उपसर्ग) + राक्षसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः अव्ययीभाव (राक्षसीभिः सह), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; qualifies लङ्का

• भविष्यति: will be, will become
• भविष्यति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पुरी: city
• पुरी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; apposition with लङ्का

• लङ्का: Lanka
• लङ्का: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लङ्का (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• नष्टभर्त्री: bereft of her husband/lord
• नष्टभर्त्री: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नष्ट + भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः बहुव्रीहि, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; repeated for emphasis; predicate/qualifier

• यथा: like
• यथा: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; comparative conjunction

• अङ्गना: a woman
• अङ्गना: Upamana (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; upamāna

Context

"This city of Lanka with many auspicious celebrations will lose its king and all mean ogresses will remain like widows.

Characters & Entities

• Laṅkā
• rākṣasī (ogresses)

FAQs

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

External prosperity and celebration cannot shield a polity founded on unrighteousness; dharma, not spectacle, sustains true stability.

What is the narrative situation?

Sītā foretells that Laṅkā’s grandeur will collapse with the fall of its ruler, leaving its women in grief.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Sītā’s unwavering moral conviction: she interprets political power through the lens of dharma and its consequences.