Valmiki Ramayana 2.9.45 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 9, Shloka 45

मन्थराप्रेरणा—वरद्वय-स्मरणं च

Manthara’s Provocation and the Recalling of Two Boons

Devanagari script

आसन्याश्शम्बरे मायास्सहस्रमसुराधिपे।।।।सर्वास्त्वयि निविष्टास्ता भूयश्चान्यास्सहस्रशः।

Transliteration

āsanyāḥ śambare māyāḥ sahasram asurādhipe |

sarvāḥ tvayi niviṣṭās tā bhūyaś cānyāḥ sahasraśaḥ ||

Translation

اسوروں کے سردار شمبر کے پاس کبھی ہزار فریب و تدبیریں تھیں؛ مگر وہ سب کی سب تجھ میں سمٹ آئی ہیں، بلکہ ان سے بڑھ کر ہزاروں اور بھی۔

Word by Word

• āsan: were
• āsan: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Laṅ-lakāra (लङ्/Imperfect past), Prathama-puruṣa, Bahuvacana; parasmaipada

• yāḥ: which/that (f.pl.)
• yāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; relative pronoun referring to 'māyāḥ'

• śambare: O Śambara
• śambare: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śambara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana

• māyāḥ: magical deceptions/illusions
• māyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• sahasram: a thousand
• sahasram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/संख्या)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; numeral used as count

• asurādhipe: O lord of the Asuras
• asurādhipe: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asura-adhipa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa: asura + adhipa; Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; qualifying 'tāḥ (māyāḥ)'

• tvayi: in you
• tvayi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Saptamī (7/सप्तमी), Ekavacana

• niviṣṭāḥ: entered/settled
• niviṣṭāḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण/भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni-viś (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kta-participle, Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; predicate adjective of 'māyāḥ'

• tāḥ: those
• tāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; resumptive pronoun for 'māyāḥ'

• bhūyaḥ: more/further
• bhūyaḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, adverb (पुनः/अधिकम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta

• anyāḥ: other
• anyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; qualifying implied 'māyāḥ'

• sahasraśaḥ: by thousands/in thousands
• sahasraśaḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, distributive adverb (प्रकार/परिमाण)

Context

Your clever thoughts, magic powers and also the skills of kshatriyas are stored in your huge hump which is as wide as the hub of a chariot wheel.

Characters & Entities

• Śambara
• Asuras
• Mantharā
• Kaikeyī

FAQs

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

The verse cautions against praising deceit as ‘skill.’ In dharmic terms, manipulation (māyā used for harm) corrupts judgment and leads to unrighteous outcomes.

What is the narrative situation?

Kaikeyī, influenced by Mantharā, flatters her by comparing her craftiness to the famed demon Śambara’s illusions.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

A distorted ‘virtue’—cleverness—is celebrated, but the epic frames such cleverness as morally dangerous when severed from satya (truth) and dharma.