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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.39.11

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

3.39.11

rājyaṃ pālayituṃ śakyaṃ na tīkṣṇena niśācara
na cāpi pratikūlena nāvinītena rākṣasa

A kingdom cannot be governed by a harsh (king), O night-ranger, nor by a perverse one, nor by an undisciplined one, O rākṣasa.

Words: rājyaṃ — kingdom; pālayituṃ — to govern; śakyaṃ — possible; na tīkṣṇena — not by a harsh (one); niśācara — O night-ranger; na cāpi — nor also; pratikūlena — by a perverse, contrary one; nāvinītena — nor by an undisciplined one; rākṣasa — O rākṣasa

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.