← 3.35.19 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 35: Mārīca’s warning · 3.35.21 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.35.20
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 35: Mārīca’s warning. He corrects Rāvaṇa’s account of Rāma’s exile, praises Rāma’s character and urges consultation before a plan that could destroy Laṅkā
In the sequence: he warns that a confrontation would cost Rāvaṇa his life, Kingdom, and happiness
3.35.20
kim udyamaṃ vyartham imaṃ kṛtvā te rākṣasādhipa
dṛṣṭaś cet tvaṃ raṇe tena tad antaṃ tava jīvitam
jīvitaṃ ca sukhaṃ caiva rājyaṃ caiva sudurlabham
What use is this futile effort of yours, O lord of rākṣasas? If you are seen by him in battle, that is the end of your life; and life, happiness, and kingship, once lost, are very hard to regain.
Words: kim — what (use of); udyamaṃ — effort, exertion; vyartham — futile, useless; imaṃ — this; kṛtvā — having made; te — your; rākṣasādhipa — O lord of rākṣasas; dṛṣṭaś cet — if seen; tvaṃ — you; raṇe — in battle; tena — by him; tad antaṃ — that is the end; tava jīvitam — of your life; jīvitaṃ ca — and life; sukhaṃ caiva — and happiness; rājyaṃ caiva — and kingship; sudurlabham — very hard to regain
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.