Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 113, Shloka 5
रावणवधदर्शनम्
Lament of the Rākṣasa Women upon Seeing Rāvaṇa Slain
ताबाष्पपरिपूर्णाक्ष्योभर्तृशोकपराजिताः ।करेण्वइवनर्द्नत्योविनेदुर्हतयूथपाः ।।।।
tā bāṣpaparipūrṇākṣyo bhartṛśokaparājitāḥ | kareṇva iva nardantyo vineduḥ hatayūthapāḥ ||
ان کی آنکھیں آنسوؤں سے لبریز تھیں اور شوہروں کے غم نے انہیں مغلوب کر رکھا تھا؛ وہ چیخ اٹھیں—گویا وہ ہتھنیوں کا ریوڑ ہو جس کا سردار مارا گیا ہو—اور ہولناک دہاڑ بلند کی۔
Bellowing like female elephants that had lost their husbands, the women roared eyes filled with tears on account of grief for their husbands.
FAQs
The epic underscores compassion and the moral weight of loss: even enemies’ families experience unbearable sorrow, urging restraint and righteousness.
The women mourn loudly on the battlefield, their lament compared to elephants crying after their leader’s death.
Karunā (compassion) as a readerly virtue: the verse trains the audience to feel the tragedy of war beyond partisan victory.