Shloka 25
मारीचोपदेशः — Maricha’s Counsel to Ravana
On Rama’s Dharma and the Peril of Abduction
अहं तु मन्ये तव न क्षमं रणे समागमं कोसलराजसूनुना।इदं हि भूयश्श़ृणु वाक्यमुत्तमं क्षमं च युक्तं च निशाचरेश्वर।।।।
ahaṃ tu manye tava na kṣamaṃ raṇe samāgamaṃ kosalarājasūnunā |
idaṃ hi bhūyaḥ śṛṇu vākyam uttamaṃ kṣamaṃ ca yuktaṃ ca niśācareśvara ||
至于我，我以为你不宜在战场上与拘萨罗王之子相会交锋。请再听这至善之言——既相称又合乎理性，夜行众之主啊。
A king who is a slave to passion, who is of bad conduct, of wicked thoughts, advised in evil ways destroys himself, his kith and kin and the entire kingdom.
FAQs
Dharma includes restraint and choosing the reasonable course (yukta); one should not enter a war that is unjust or disastrously imprudent.
Mārīca concludes his warning by advising Rāvaṇa that confronting Rama in battle is improper and irrational, urging him to heed sound counsel.
The virtue of listening to wise, fitting advice—placing reason and propriety above ego and desire.