← 3.31.20 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 31: Śūrpaṇakhā rebukes Rāvaṇa · 3.31.22 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.31.21

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 repeats that his failed intelligence and poor judgment will bring him grief → Rāvaṇa reflects on her accusations.

3.31.21

tvaṃ tu rāvaṇadurbuddhir guṇair etair vivarjitaḥ
yasya te 'viditaś cārai rakṣasāṃ sumahān vadhaḥ

But you, Rāvaṇa of evil mind, are bereft of these virtues, you by whom, through your spies, the very great slaughter of the rākṣasas went unknown.

Words: tvaṃ tu — but you; rāvaṇadurbuddhir — O Rāvaṇa of evil mind; guṇair etair — by these virtues; vivarjitaḥ — bereft, devoid; yasya — of whom; te — by you, to you; 'viditaś — unknown; cārai — by (your) spies; rakṣasāṃ — of the rākṣasas; sumahān — very great; vadhaḥ — slaughter, slaying

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.