Shloka 19
सीताहरणम्
Ravana reveals his true form and abducts Sita
स च मायामयो दिव्यः खरयुक्तः खरस्वनः।।3.49.19।।प्रत्यदृश्यत हेमाङ्गो रावणस्य महारथः।
sa ca māyāmayo divyaḥ kharayuktaḥ kharasvanaḥ | pratyadṛśyata hemāṅgo rāvaṇasya mahārathaḥ ||
تب راون کا عظیم رتھ نمودار ہوا—سنہری اندام، عجیب و غریب اور مایا سے بنا ہوا—جو گدھوں سے جتا تھا اور ان کی ڈھینچوں ڈھینچوں کی آواز سے گونج رہا تھا۔
There arrived the great golden chariot of Ravana, illusive and wonderful, harnessed with donkeys and braying like donkeys.
FAQs
The verse contrasts outward splendor and inner unrighteousness: māyā (deceptive power) can mask adharma, warning that appearances are not reliable measures of virtue.
Rāvaṇa’s extraordinary chariot manifests, enabling the abduction to proceed.
Discernment (viveka) is implied as a virtue—recognizing that dazzling power may be ethically hollow.