Shloka 18
मधुवनप्रवेशः — The Vanaras Enter Madhuvana
Honey-Grove Episode
समाकुलं तत्कपिसैन्यमासीन्मधुप्रसानोत्कटसत्त्वचेष्टम्।न चात्र कश्चिन्न बभूव मत्तो न चात्र कश्चिन्न बभूव तृप्तः।।।।
samākulaṃ tat-kapi-sainyam āsīn madhu-prasān-otkaṭa-sattva-ceṣṭam |
na cātra kaścin na babhūva matto na cātra kaścin na babhūva tṛptaḥ ||
तत् कपिसैन्यं मधुप्रसानेन उद्दीप्तसत्त्वचेष्टं समाकुलं बभूव। अत्र न कश्चिदमत्तोऽभवत्, न च कश्चित् तृप्तोऽभवत्॥
The army of monkeys had lost control over their bodies due to drinking of honeywine. Not even one was quietly seated there. Not even one was not intoxicated. Not only that, none were satisfied.
FAQs
Dharma values restraint and contentment. The verse warns that intoxication inflames impulses and that craving is self-perpetuating—one can be drunk yet still unsatisfied, showing the danger of unchecked desire.
The vānaras, celebrating Hanumān’s achievement, drink honey in Madhuvana; the narrator notes the resulting uproar and the absence of both sobriety and satisfaction.
The implied virtue is santoṣa (contentment) along with moderation—qualities that prevent celebration from turning into destructiveness.