Shloka 79

रावणस्य अन्त्येष्टिः

Ravana’s Funeral Rites and the Ethics of Post-War Conduct

Devanagari script

नीलजीमूतसङ्काश पीताम्बरशुभाङ्गद ।स्वगात्राणिविनिक्षिप्यकिंशेषेरुधिराप्लुतः ।।।।

Transliteration

nīla-jīmūta-saṅkāśa pītāmbara-śubhāṅgada | sva-gātrāṇi vinikṣipya kiṁ śeṣe rudhirāplutaḥ ||

Translation

നീലമേഘസദൃശകാന്തിയുള്ളവനേ, പീതാംബരം ധരിച്ച് ശുഭമായ അങ്കദങ്ങളാൽ അലങ്കൃതനേ! സ്വന്തം അവയവങ്ങൾ വീണുകിടന്ന് രക്തത്തിൽ നനഞ്ഞ് നീ ഇവിടെ എന്തിന് കിടക്കുന്നു?

Word by Word

• nīla-jīmūta-saṅkāśa: O one like a dark cloud
• nīla-jīmūta-saṅkāśa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + jīmūta (प्रातिपदिक) + saṅkāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: nīla-jīmūta-saṅkāśa (तत्पुरुष: 'resembling a dark cloud'); Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana

• pītāmbara-śubhāṅgada: O wearer of yellow cloth and fine armlets
• pītāmbara-śubhāṅgada: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pīta (प्रातिपदिक) + ambara (प्रातिपदिक) + śubha (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: pītāmbara-śubhāṅgada (बहुव्रीहि: 'one who has yellow garments and beautiful armlets'); Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana

• sva-gātrāṇi: your own limbs
• sva-gātrāṇi: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: sva-gātra (तत्पुरुष: 'one's own limbs'); Napuṃsaka, Dvitīyā, Bahuvacana

• vinikṣipya: having thrown down
• vinikṣipya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ni-√kṣip (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/gerund (ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त), 'having cast down'

• kim: why?
• kim: Prashna (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative particle used adverbially (प्रश्नार्थक)

• śeṣe: do you lie (remain)
• śeṣe: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śī (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (present), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person/मध्यमपुरुष), Ekavacana; ātmanepada

• rudhirāplutaḥ: covered with blood
• rudhirāplutaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rudhira (प्रातिपदिक) + āpluta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa: rudhirāpluta (तत्पुरुष: 'flooded with blood'); Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate adjective to (tvam) understood

Context

"Resembling a dark cloud clad in yellow silk, why are you lying like this with limbs thrown down and body covered with blood?"

Characters & Entities

• Mandodarī
• Rāvaṇa

FAQs

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

It points to the truth of impermanence: worldly splendor and power end in mortality; Dharma urges right action before such an end arrives.

What is the narrative situation?

Mandodarī addresses the lifeless body of Rāvaṇa, contrasting his former grandeur with his present state.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Truthful witnessing (satya-darśana) of impermanence, expressed through lament.