← 3.54.15 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 54: Rāvaṇa’s deadline and threat · 3.54.17 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.54.16

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 54: Rāvaṇa’s deadline and threat. Sītā refuses him, he gives her twelve months to submit or be killed for his meal, then sends her to the aśoka grove

In the sequence: his protection against Suras and asuras will not save him from Rāma, and Laṅkā will suffer for his deed

3.54.16

yadā vināśo bhūtānāṃ dṛśyate kālacoditaḥ
tadā kārye pramādyanti narāḥ kālavaśaṃ gatāḥ

When the destruction of creatures, driven by Time, draws near, then men fallen under Time's sway grow heedless in their duty.

Words: yadā — when; vināśo — destruction; bhūtānāṃ — of creatures; dṛśyate — is seen, draws near; kālacoditaḥ — driven by Time; tadā — then; kārye — in (their) duty; pramādyanti — grow heedless; narāḥ — men; kālavaśaṃ — under Time's sway; gatāḥ — fallen

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.