Shloka 9

सीताया रावणनिन्दा — अशोकवनिकाप्रवेशः

Sita’s Rebuke of Ravana; Removal to the Ashoka Grove

Devanagari script

स ते जीवितशेषस्य राघवोऽन्तकरो बली।पशोर्यूपगतस्येव जीवितं तव दुर्लभम्।।।।

Transliteration

sa te jīvitaśeṣasya rāghavo 'ntakaro balī |

paśor yūpagatasyeva jīvitaṃ tava durlabham ||

Translation

ราฆวะผู้ทรงพลังจักเป็นผู้ปิดฉากเศษเสี้ยวชีวิตที่เหลือของเจ้า; ดุจสัตว์ที่ถูกผูกไว้กับเสายูปะแห่งพิธีบูชา ชีวิตรอดของเจ้าหาได้ยากยิ่ง

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (apposition to rāghavaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• te: your
• te: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana (enclitic)

• jīvita-śeṣasya: of (one) with life remaining
• jīvita-śeṣasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (सम्बन्ध) (qualifying te)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīvita (प्रातिपदिक) + śeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana; Tatpuruṣa: jīvitasya śeṣaḥ 'remainder of life'

• rāghavaḥ: Rāghava (Rāma)
• rāghavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāghava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• antakaraḥ: bringer of death
• antakaraḥ: Pradhāna-predicative (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; Tatpuruṣa: antam karoti 'bringer of the end/death-dealer'

• balī: mighty
• balī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: balin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• paśoḥ: of a beast
• paśoḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paśu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana

• yūpa-gatasya: tied to the sacrificial post
• yūpa-gatasya: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of paśoḥ
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + √gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa: yūpam gataḥ 'gone to/tied at the sacrificial post'; PPP (क्त) used adjectivally; Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana (agreeing with paśoḥ)

• iva: like
• iva: Upamāna-bodhaka (उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: Comparative particle

• jīvitam: life
• jīvitam: Karta (कर्ता) (of implied asti)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• tava: of you
• tava: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana

• durlabham: hard to obtain (i.e., hard to survive)
• durlabham: Pradhāna-predicative (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur-labha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate adjective agreeing with jīvitam

Context

Powerful Rama will put an end to whatever little life you are left with. Just as a beasttied to a sacrificial post, you will not survive.

Characters & Entities

• Rāghava (Rāma)
• Rāvaṇa
• yūpa (sacrificial post)
• paśu (sacrificial animal)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Dharma underscores inevitability of moral consequence: when one chooses adharma and becomes bound by it, escape becomes as unlikely as a sacrificial beast’s release from the post.

What is the narrative situation?

Continuing his counsel, Marīca vividly warns Rāvaṇa that Rāma will end his life, using a sacrificial metaphor to stress certainty.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Moral clarity and foresight: the speaker frames adharma as self-binding and predicts its fatal end.