Shloka 42
रावणभवनपरिक्रमणं हनूमतः शोकविचारश्च
Hanuman’s Circuit of Ravana’s Palace and the Crisis of Deliberation
चितां कृत्वा प्रवेक्ष्यामि समिद्धमरणीसुतम्।उपविष्टस्य वा सम्यग्लिङ्गिनीं साधयिष्यतः।।।।शरीरं भक्षयिष्यन्ति वायसाः श्वापदानि च।
citāṃ kṛtvā pravekṣyāmi samiddham araṇīsutam |
upaviṣṭasya vā samyag liṅginīṃ sādhayiṣyataḥ ||
śarīraṃ bhakṣayiṣyanti vāyasāḥ śvāpadāni ca |
मी चिता रचून, अरणीपासून उत्पन्न झालेल्या प्रज्वलित अग्नीत प्रवेश करीन; किंवा इथेच बसून प्रायोपवेशनाचे व्रत (अनशन-मरण) आचरीन—जोवर कावळे आणि वन्य पशू हे शरीर भक्षून टाकत नाहीत।
"I will prepare a pyre and enter the fire so that sea waves wash off the ashes or crows and beasts will eat up my body while i sit fasting unto death.
FAQs
The verse dramatizes the danger of despair: when duty feels threatened, the mind imagines self-harm; the Ramayana’s ethical arc later corrects this toward perseverance and life-affirming dharma.
Hanuman, overwhelmed by the fear of failing Rama’s mission, considers extreme forms of self-ending—immolation or fasting unto death.
Intense accountability: even in error, Hanuman’s thoughts show how seriously he treats responsibility to Rama and Sītā.