← 3.39.9 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 39: Mārīca’s final warning · 3.39.11 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.39.10

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 39: Mārīca’s final warning. He condemns advisers who fail to restrain a destructive ruler and predicts that the abduction will kill them both and ruin Laṅkā

In the sequence: he condemns ministers who fail to restrain a ruler on a destructive course, because the ruler's failure ruins everyone dependent on him

3.39.10

rājamūlo hi dharmaś ca jayaś ca jayatāṃ vara
tasmāt sarvāsv avasthāsu rakṣitavyo narādhipaḥ

For both dharma and victory have the king as their root, O best of conquerors; therefore in all conditions the king must be protected.

Words: rājamūlo — having the king as root; hi — for; dharmaś ca — both dharma; jayaś ca — and victory; jayatāṃ vara — O best of conquerors; tasmāt — therefore; sarvāsv avasthāsu — in all conditions; rakṣitavyo — to be protected; narādhipaḥ — the king

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.