Shloka 9
मायामृगप्रकरणम्
The Illusory Deer Episode: Ravana and Maricha at Rama’s Hermitage
ततो रावणमारीचौ विमानमिव तं रथम्।आरुह्य ययतुश्शीघ्रं तस्मादाश्रममण्डलात्।।3.42.9।।
tato rāvaṇa-mārīcau vimānam iva taṃ ratham |
āruhya yayatuḥ śīghraṃ tasmād āśrama-maṇḍalāt || 3.42.9 ||
Kemudian Rāvaṇa dan Mārīca menaiki kereta itu—rupanya bagaikan sebuah vimāna—lalu berangkat dengan pantas dari lingkungan pertapaan.
Thereafter Ravana and Maricha ascended the chariot, which was like an aerial car, and quickly departed from that cluster of hermitages.
FAQs
The verse marks the movement of adharma into a sacred space’s vicinity: the āśrama setting symbolizes dharma and restraint, and the departure signals the impending violation of that moral order.
Rāvaṇa and Mārīca leave together from the hermitage region, beginning the operational phase of the deception against Rāma’s household.
Implicitly, the āśrama world represents tapas and self-control; the antagonists’ swift, secretive departure contrasts with those virtues.