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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.36.26

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 predicts a burning Laṅkā surrounded by arrows and urges Rāvaṇa to remain content with his own wives → abducting Sītā will bring death to him and his relatives.

3.36.26

pramadānāṃ sahasrāṇi tava rājan parigrahaḥ
bhava svadāranirataḥ svakulaṃ rakṣarākṣasa

Thousands of women, O king, are your possession; be content with your own wives, and protect your own house, O rākṣasa.

Words: pramadānāṃ — of (beautiful) women; sahasrāṇi — thousands; tava rājan — your, O king; parigrahaḥ — possession, retinue; bhava — be; svadāranirataḥ — devoted to your own wives; svakulaṃ — your own family; rakṣarākṣasa — protect (it), O rākṣasa

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.