← 3.38.20 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 38: Rāvaṇa compels Mārīca

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.38.21

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.

3.38.21

āsādyā taṃ jīvitasaṃśayas te mṛtyur dhruvo hy adya mayā virudhya
etad yathāvat parigṛhya buddhyā yad atra pathyaṃ kuru tat tathā tvam

On encountering him, your life would be at risk; but by opposing me, your death today is certain. Grasping this rightly with your mind, do here whatever is best.

Words: āsādyā — on encountering (him); taṃ — him (Rāma); jīvitasaṃśayas — risk to life; te — your; mṛtyur — death; dhruvo — certain; hy adya — indeed today; mayā — with me, by me; virudhya — having opposed; etad — this; yathāvat — rightly, properly; parigṛhya — having grasped; buddhyā — with (your) mind; yad atra — what here; pathyaṃ — is best, wholesome; kuru — do; tat tathā — that, so; tvam — you

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.