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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.38.20

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 38: Rāvaṇa compels Mārīca. He rejects unwelcome advice, offers half his Kingdom for help and threatens immediate death if Mārīca refuses the deer disguise

In the sequence: then he makes the choice explicit: facing Rāma may risk death, but refusing Rāvaṇa will bring certain death immediately.

3.38.20

etat kāryam avaśyaṃ me balād api kariṣyasi
rājño hi pratikūlastho na jātu sukham edhate

This task of mine you shall do, even by force if need be; for one who stands opposed to a king never prospers in ease.

Words: etat kāryam — this task; avaśyaṃ — assuredly, necessarily; me — my, for me; balād api — even by force; kariṣyasi — you will do; rājño hi — for of the king; pratikūlastho — standing opposed; na jātu — never; sukham — in ease, happily; edhate — thrives, prospers

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.