Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 20, Shloka 2
दूत-नीति, शुक-प्रसङ्गः
Envoy-Ethics and the Episode of Śuka
चारोराक्षसराजस्यरावणस्यदुरात्मनः ।तांदृष्ट्वासर्वतोव्यग्रंप्रतिगम्यसराक्षसः ।।।।प्रविश्यलङ्कांवेगेनरावणंवाक्यमब्रवीत् ।
cāro rākṣasarājasya rāvaṇasya durātmanaḥ |
tāṃ dṛṣṭvā sarvato vyagraṃ pratigamya sa rākṣasaḥ ||
praviśya laṅkāṃ vegena rāvaṇaṃ vākyam abravīt ||
Ang isang rākṣasa, espiya ng masamang haring si Rāvaṇa, nang makita ang kampo na abala sa lahat ng dako, ay nagbalik nang mabilis, pumasok sa Laṅkā, at nagsalita kay Rāvaṇa.
At once the Vanaras violently seized the night ranger Suka and held him and threw him down to the ground from the sky.
FAQs
The verse highlights rājanīti (statecraft) operating within dharma: rulers rely on observation and truthful reporting; the moral tension is that intelligence can serve either dharma or adharma depending on the ruler’s intent.
Rāvaṇa’s spy finishes reconnoitering the vānaras’ camp and returns to Laṅkā to report.
Alertness and efficiency in duty (from the spy’s perspective), showing disciplined execution of an assigned task.