← 3.31.1 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 31: Śūrpaṇakhā rebukes Rāvaṇa · 3.31.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.31.2

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: Before the ministers, Śūrpaṇakhā accuses Rāvaṇa of being absorbed in pleasure and failing to recognize the grave danger that has arisen

3.31.2

pramattaḥ kāmabhogeṣu svairavṛtto niraṅkuśaḥ
samutpannaṃ bhayaṃ ghoraṃ boddhavyaṃ nāvabudhyase

Heedless amid the enjoyments of desire, wilful and unrestrained, you fail to grasp the terrible danger that has arisen, which ought to be understood.

Words: pramattaḥ — heedless, negligent; kāmabhogeṣu — in the enjoyments of desire; svairavṛtto — acting at will, self-willed; niraṅkuśaḥ — unrestrained (lit. without a goad); samutpannaṃ — arisen; bhayaṃ — danger, fear; ghoraṃ — terrible; boddhavyaṃ — to be understood; nāvabudhyase — you do not perceive

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.