Shloka 24

रावण–मारीचसंवादः तथा मृगप्रलोभनपूर्वकं सीताहरणोपक्रमः

Rāvaṇa–Mārīca Dialogue and the Decoy-Deer Prelude to Sītā’s Abduction

Devanagari script

देवानामपि मौद्‌गल्य कांक्षिता सा गति: परा | दुष्प्रापा परमा सिद्धिरगम्या कामगोचरै:,मौदगल्य! स्वर्गवासी देवता भी उस (ऋभु नामक देवताओंकी) परमगतिको प्राप्त करनेकी इच्छा रखते हैं। वह परा सिद्धिकी अवस्था है, जो अत्यन्त दुर्लभ है। विषयभोगोंकी इच्छा रखनेवाले लोगोंकी वहाँतक पहुँच नहीं होती

Transliteration

devānām api maudgalya kāṅkṣitā sā gatiḥ parā | duṣprāpā paramā siddhir agamyā kāma-gocaraiḥ ||

Translation

मौद्गल्य! स्वर्गस्थ देवताही त्या परम गतीची आकांक्षा करतात. ती परमा सिद्धी अत्यंत दुर्लभ आहे; विषयभोगांत गुंतलेल्यांना तेथे पोहोचता येत नाही.

Word by Word

• {'devānām': 'of the gods (genitive plural of deva)', 'api': 'even

• also', 'maudgalya': 'O Maudgalya (vocative

• addressed to the sage)', 'kāṅkṣitā': 'desired

• longed for', 'sā': 'that', 'gatiḥ': 'goal

• spiritual course', 'parā': 'supreme

• highest', 'duṣprāpā': 'difficult to obtain

• hard to reach', 'paramā': 'highest

• ultimate', 'siddhiḥ': 'attainment

• consummate realization', 'agamyā': 'unapproachable

• not reachable', 'kāma-gocaraiḥ': 'by those moving in the sphere of desire/sense-objects

Speaker

देवदूत उवाच

Characters & Entities

• देवदूत (divine messenger)
• मौद्गल्य (Maudgalya)
• देवाः (the gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the highest spiritual goal (parā gati, paramā siddhi) is rare and cannot be reached by those dominated by desire and sense-enjoyment; self-mastery and transcendence of kāma are implied prerequisites.

What is happening in the narrative?

A divine messenger addresses the sage Maudgalya, emphasizing that a certain supreme state—so exalted that even the gods desire it—is inaccessible to pleasure-driven beings, thereby directing the listener toward renunciation and higher aspiration.