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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.36.22

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

3.36.22

akurvanto 'pi pāpāni śucayaḥ pāpasaṃśrayāt
parapāpair vinaśyanti matsyā nāgahrade yathā

Even the innocent, who do no wrong, perish through consorting with the wicked, by the sins of others—like the fish in the serpent's pool.

Words: akurvanto 'pi — even those doing no (evil); pāpāni — evil (deeds); śucayaḥ — the pure, innocent; pāpasaṃśrayāt — from association with the wicked; parapāpair — by the sins of others; vinaśyanti — perish; matsyā — the fish; nāgahrade — in the serpent's pool; yathā — as, like

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.