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

Вайшампаяна сказал: «Ночью, под конец сна, ко мне обратились олени — те, что уцелели после бойни. Они сказали: “О благородный, да будешь ты благополучен. Мы сведены к нитевидным остаткам нашего рода. Сжалься над нами.”» Утром, когда сон отступил, царь — с сердцем, смягчённым жалостью к диким тварям, — заговорил с братьями, передавая им эту мольбу о милости.

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

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.