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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.31.14

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 31: Śūrpaṇakhā rebukes Rāvaṇa. She exposes his ignorance of Janasthāna’s destruction and warns that pleasure, failed intelligence and neglect will cost him his Kingdom

In the sequence: she warns that a harsh, arrogant, inaccessible ruler will find no support when disaster comes

3.31.14

tīkṣṇam alpapradātāraṃ pramattaṃ garvitaṃ śaṭham
vyasane sarvabhūtāni nābhidhāvanti pārthivam

A king who is harsh, a niggardly giver, heedless, arrogant, and deceitful, no creatures rush to help in his hour of calamity.

Words: tīkṣṇam — harsh, sharp; alpapradātāraṃ — a niggardly giver; pramattaṃ — heedless; garvitaṃ — arrogant, proud; śaṭham — deceitful, crafty; vyasane — in calamity; sarvabhūtāni — all creatures; nābhidhāvanti — do not run to (help); pārthivam — the king

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.