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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.36.20

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 36: Mārīca’s story of his first defeat. He recalls attacking Viśvāmitra’s sacrifice and being hurled a hundred yojanas into the sea by the young Rāma’s arrow

In the sequence: he warns that Rāvaṇa's proposed war will likewise destroy the rākṣasas, including innocent people caught up in their ruler's wrongdoing

3.36.20

krīḍā ratividhijñānāṃ samājotsavaśālinām
rakṣasāṃ caiva saṃtāpam anarthaṃ cāhariṣyasi

And you will bring grief and ruin upon the rākṣasas—those versed in the ways of sport and love, who delight in assemblies and festivals.

Words: krīḍā — sport, play (compound-initial); ratividhijñānāṃ — of those knowing the modes of love; samājotsavaśālinām — of those delighting in gatherings and festivals; rakṣasāṃ caiva — and of the rākṣasas; saṃtāpam — grief, torment; anarthaṃ — ruin, misfortune; cāhariṣyasi — and you will bring

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.