Aranya Kanda, Sarga 37

Meaning

Hearing the aforesaid proposal of Rāvaṇa, the ruler of ogres, Mārīca, who was possessed of exceptional glory and was a master of expression, replied as follows to the king of Rākṣasas : (1)

Meaning

“People speaking agreeable words are always easy to find. He, however, who speaks words which, though unpalatable, are yet wholesome, is difficult to find. (2)

Meaning

“Having not employed spies to find out the real state of affairs in your kingdom and being fidgety yourself, you surely do not know Rāma, who is elevated in point of excellences going together with exceptional valour and is a compeer of the mighty Indra and Varuṇa, the god of water. (3)

Meaning

“May all be well with all the ogres, O dear Rāvaṇa! Let not the infuriated Rāma render the worlds empty of ogres. (4)

Meaning

“Would that Sītā, the daughter of Janaka, were not born to compass the end of your life. Would that no great calamity befell you on account of Sītā. (5)

Meaning

“Would that, having obtained you, licentious and unbridled as you are, as its master, the city of Laṅkā did not perish alongwith you as also with the ogres inhabiting it. (6)

Meaning

“A king who is licentious and evil minded, is of evil conduct and is counselled by sinful men surely ruins himself, his own kith and kin as well as his state. (7)

Meaning

“Rāma has not been disowned by his father nor has he transgressed the bounds of morality in anyway; nor is he greedy, nor of evil conduct, nor again has he brought disgrace to the Kṣatriyas. (8)

Meaning

“Nor is he devoid of piety and virtues, enhancing as he does the joy of Kausalyā, his mother. Nor again is he severe to living beings, devoted as he is to the good of all created beings. (9)

Meaning

“Seeing his father, who always spoke the truth, hoodwinked by Kaikeyī (his stepmother), Rāma, whose mind is set on virtue, departed for the forest from Ayodhyā, saying ‘I will prove him to be truthful of speech.’ (10)

Meaning

“Renouncing the throne of Ayodhyā as well as the enjoyments of sense, he penetrated into the forest of Daṇḍaka in order to accomplish the cherished desire of Kaikeyī as well as of King Daśaratha. (11)

Meaning

“Nor is Rāma hard-hearted, O dear one, nor ignorant, nor are his senses unsubdued. Nor has any charge of falsehood been heard about him, nor ought you to level any such charge against him. (12)

Meaning

“Rāma is virtue incarnate, pious and of unfailing prowess. He is the ruler of the entire humanity even as Indra is the ruler of gods. (13)

Meaning

“How I wonder do you intend to bear away by force his consort Sītā, a princess of the Videha territory, protected by her own spiritual energy, any more than one can take away the brilliance of the sun? (14)

Meaning

“You ought not precipitately to enter the inviolable fire blazing on a battlefield in the form of Rāma with arrows as its flames and the bow and sword as fuel. (15)

Meaning

“Relinquishing for good your throne and happiness as well as your beloved life, O dear one, you ought not to meet at close quarters Death in the form of Rāma, with the bow as his wide open blazing mouth, the arrows as his rays, wearing a stern aspect in indignation and capable of wiping off the enemy’s forces. (16-17)

Meaning

“Immeasurable is the glory of the prince to whom that daughter of Janaka belongs. You are not capable of bearing her away, protected as she is in the forest by the bow of Rāma. (18)

Meaning

“The young lady is the consort of that lion among men, who has a chest broad as the lion’s, and is dearer to him than his very life and ever devoted to him. (19)

Meaning

“Sītā, that princess of Mithilā, who is distinguished by a slender waist, is the beloved wife of a powerful man and cannot be over-powered any more than the flame of a blazing fire. (20)

Meaning

“What will be gained by you by entering on this futile endeavour, O suzerain lord of ogres? If you are ever seen by him on a field of battle, that will be the end of your life. (21)

Meaning

“If you wish to enjoy for long life and happiness as also the throne, which is extremely hard to win, pray, don’t give offence to Rāma. (22)

Meaning

“Taking counsel with all your most virtuous ministers headed by Vibhīṣaṇa, and making up your mind, nay, weighing carefully the preponderance and otherwise of the merits and demerits of the proposition and judging aright your own strength as well as that of Rāma (a scion of Raghu), and ascertaining what is conducive to your good, you ought to do the proper thing. (23-24)

Meaning

“I, for my part, do not deem fit your encounter on a field of battle with Rāma, the prince of Kosala. Listen once more, O suzerain lord of ogres, to my following most useful, appropriate and reasonable submission. (25)