Shloka 11

रावणोत्पत्तिः—तपसा वरलाभश्च

Rāvaṇa’s Origins and the Acquisition of Boons

Devanagari script

उक्तो रात्रौ मृगैरस्मि स्वप्रान्ते हतशेषितै: । तन्तुभूता: सम भद्रें ते दया न: क्रियतामिति,इस प्रकार रात बीतनेपर जब सबेरे उनकी नींद खुली, तब वे नृपतिशिरोमणि हिंसक पशुओंके प्रति दयाभावसे द्रवित हो अपने सब भाइयोंसे बोले--“बन्धुओ! रातको सपनेमें मरनेसे बचे हुए इस वनके पशुओंने मुझसे कहा है--'राजन्‌! आपका भला हो। हम अपनी वंशपरम्पराके एक-एक तलन्‍्तुमात्र शेष रह गये हैं। अब हमलोगोंपर दया कीजिये'

Transliteration

ukto rātrau mṛgair asmi svapnānte hataśeṣitaiḥ | tantubhūtāḥ sma bhadre te dayā naḥ kriyatām iti ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Pada waktu malam, di penghujung mimpi, aku didatangi rusa-rusa—yang tinggal sebagai yang terselamat selepas pembantaian. Mereka berkata, ‘Wahai yang mulia, semoga engkau makmur. Kami telah menjadi sisa yang halus seperti benang daripada keturunan kami. Kasihanilah kami.’” Pada pagi hari, apabila lena telah hilang, raja—hatinya lembut oleh simpati terhadap makhluk liar—berkata kepada saudara-saudaranya, menyampaikan rayuan itu.

Word by Word

उक्तःhaving been spoken / said (I was addressed)

रात्रौat night

मृगैःby the animals/deer

अस्मिI am

स्वप्रान्तेin a dream (lit. in the end/state of sleep)

हतशेषितैःby those left as remnants after being slain

तन्तुभूताःbecome mere threads (i.e., reduced to a tiny remnant)

समम्together / equally

भद्रेO auspicious lady (term of address)

तेto you

दयाcompassion

नःof us / for us

क्रियताम्let it be done / may it be shown (be performed)

इतिthus

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

mṛga (deer / forest animals)

the king (nṛpati, implied)

brothers (bāndhava/bhrātṛ, implied)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dayā (compassion) as a royal and ethical duty: even wild creatures, when reduced to near-extinction, become objects of protection rather than exploitation. It implies restraint in violence and attentiveness to the suffering caused by human action.

What is happening in the narrative?

A king reports a dream in which deer—survivors of slaughter—plead that their lineage has been reduced to a mere trace and ask for mercy. On waking, moved by compassion, he tells his brothers, using the dream as a moral prompt to change their conduct toward the animals.