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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.31.16

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

3.31.16

nānutiṣṭhati kāryāṇi bhayeṣu na bibheti ca
kṣipraṃ rājyāc cyuto dīnas tṛṇais tulyo bhaviṣyati

He who does not carry out his tasks, and does not take fright amid dangers, is quickly cast down from his kingdom and, wretched, becomes no better than grass.

Words: nānutiṣṭhati — does not carry out; kāryāṇi — tasks, affairs; bhayeṣu — in dangers; na bibheti ca — and does not fear; kṣipraṃ — quickly; rājyāc cyuto — fallen from his kingdom; dīnas — wretched; tṛṇais tulyo — equal to grass; bhaviṣyati — will become

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.