Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 83, Shloka 16
त्र्यशीतितमः सर्गः (Sarga 83)
Hanumān Reports Sītā’s ‘Slaying’; Rāma Collapses; Lakṣmaṇa’s Counter-Discourse on Dharma and Artha
यथैवस्थावरंव्यक्तंजङ्गमं न तथाविधम् ।नायमर्थस्तथायुक्तस्त्वद्विधो न विपद्यते ।।6.83.16।।
yathaiva sthāvaraṃ vyaktaṃ jaṅgamaṃ na tathā-vidham |
nāyam arthaḥ tathā yuktaḥ tvad-vidho na vipadyate ||6.83.16||
அசையாத உலகம் தெளிவாகத் தோன்றுவது போல, அசையும் உலகம் ஒரே நிலையான விதிப்படி நடப்பதாகத் தெரியவில்லை; இந்தக் காரணம் பொருந்தாது—உம்மைப் போன்றவர் அழிவுறக் கூடாது.
"If there is unrighteousness, Ravana should be in hell. You who are endowed with righteousness should not have agony."
FAQs
It presses the dilemma: if moral order were reliable, a dharmic person would not suffer—thus it challenges the lived tension between dharma and apparent worldly outcomes.
A speaker attempts to interpret observed suffering and irregularity in outcomes as evidence against dharma’s governance.
The addressee’s presumed dharma-śīlatā (moral integrity), invoked as the reason suffering seems ‘illogical’ to the speaker.