Shloka 69
रावणस्य अन्त्येष्टिः
Ravana’s Funeral Rites and the Ethics of Post-War Conduct
कातर्यं न च तेयुद्धेकदाचित्संस्मराम्यहम् ।।।।तत्तुभाग्यविपर्यासान्नूनंतेपक्वलक्षणम् ।
kātaryaṃ na ca te yuddhe kadācit saṃsmarāmy aham |
tat tu bhāgya-viparyāsān nūnaṃ te pakva-lakṣaṇam |
Hindi ko naaalalang nagpakita ka ng kaduwagan kailanman sa digmaan. Ngunit ang duwag na gawang ito’y lumitaw—tunay na dahil sa pagbaligtad ng tadhana—isang hinog na palatandaang nagbabadya ng iyong kapahamakan.
"Indeed, I do not remember you being cowardly in war. The timidness that appeared in you is a sign of the adverseness of fate, for your destruction."
FAQs
Persistent adharma culminates in a decisive turning-point where one’s judgment collapses; moral failure ripens into inevitable downfall.
The speaker interprets Rāvaṇa’s uncharacteristic resort to cowardly tactics as an omen produced by a fatal reversal of fortune.
True bravery (vīrya) as consistent, open courage—shown here by its absence and lamented as a sign of collapse.