← 3.38.8 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 38: Rāvaṇa compels Mārīca · 3.38.10 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.38.9

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: he lectures him on a minister's obligation to address a King respectfully and avoid unwelcome words

3.38.9

saṃpṛṣṭena tu vaktavyaṃ sacivena vipaścitā
udyatāñjalinā rājño ya icched bhūtim ātmanaḥ

A wise minister, when consulted, must speak to the king with palms raised in salutation, if he desires his own welfare.

Words: saṃpṛṣṭena — by (a minister) consulted; tu — indeed; vaktavyaṃ — it should be spoken; sacivena — by a minister; vipaścitā — wise, learned; udyatāñjalinā — with palms raised in salutation; rājño — to the king; ya icched — who might desire; bhūtim — welfare, prosperity; ātmanaḥ — his own

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.