Shloka 44
मायामृगदर्शनम्
The Vision of the Illusory Deer
तदेवं न भवेद्रक्षोवातापिरिव लक्ष्मण।मद्विधं योऽतिमन्येत धर्मनित्यं जितेन्द्रियम्।।।।भवेद्धतोऽयं वातापिरगस्त्येनेव मां गतः।
tad evaṃ na bhaved rakṣo vātāpir iva lakṣmaṇa | madvidhaṃ yo ’timanyeta dharmanityaṃ jitendriyam || bhaved dhato ’yaṃ vātāpir agastyeneva māṃ gataḥ |
Demikianlah, wahai Lakṣmaṇa, rākṣasa ini tidak akan terselamat seperti Vātāpi: sesiapa yang menyombong diri melampaui orang sepertiku—yang tetap teguh dalam dharma dan menundukkan indera—akan dibinasakan, sebagaimana Vātāpi dibinasakan oleh Agastya.
O Lakshmana! just like Vatapi, this demon will not live. Whoever violates a person of my kind who is ever righteous and self-controlled will be killed
FAQs
To attack the dharmic and self-restrained is to invite ruin; dharma carries an inherent moral force that ultimately prevails over arrogance.
Rāma reassures Lakṣmaṇa that the threatening demon will be destroyed, using Vātāpi’s destruction by Agastya as a precedent.
Jitendriyatā (self-mastery): Rāma presents righteousness and restraint as the foundation of legitimate strength.