Summary
Maareecha advises Ravana to stay away from Rama with his own unpleasant experience with Rama’s arrow when he was in Tataka forest, and portrays a gruesome picture of Rama to Ravana, asking him to not to meddle with Rama's affairs.
Chapter [Sarga] 37 in Detail
tat shrutvaa raaksasendrasya vaakyam vaakya vishaaradah |
pratyuvaaca mahaapraajno maariico raaksaseshvaram || 3-37-1
On hearing that idea of the chief of demons Ravana in abducting Seetha, Maareecha, a well-informed one and an articulator spoke to the lord of demons in reply. [3-37-1]
sulabhaah purusaa raajan satatam priya vaadinah |
apriyasya ca pathyasya vaktaa shrotaa ca durlabhah || 3-37-2
"It will always be easy to get people who talk pleasantly, oh, king, but it is impossible to get them who talk judgmentally and give suggestions that may be apparently insipid, but that are recuperative, more so, it is impossible to get listeners of such advises. [3-37-2]
na nuunam budhyase raamam mahaaviiryam guna unnatam |
ayukta caarah capalo mahendra varuna upamam || 3-37-3
"Definitely you do not apperceive Rama who is decidedly dynamic and exaltedly adept, for you are impetuous and desultory in dealing with your spies, but that Rama is identical to the thunderous Mahendra and tempestuous Varuna, the Rain-god. [3-37-3]
api svasti bhavet taata sarvesaam bhuvi raksasaam |
api raamo na samkruddhah kuryaat lokam araaksasam || 3-37-4
"Oh, boy, will there be safety to all demons on earth? Or, that highly enraged Rama will render this world de-demonized! [3-37-4]
api te jiivita a.ntaaya na utpannaa janakaatmajaa |
api siitaa nimittam ca na bhavet vyasanam mahat || 3-37-5
"Has this Seetha, the daughter of Janaka, taken birth to end your life, or what! And because of this Seetha will there be a great disaster, so to speak! [3-37-5]
api tvaam iishvaram praapya kaama vrittam nira.nkusham |
na vinashyet purii la.nkaa tvayaa saha sa raaksasaa || 3-37-6
"Egocentric and rampant, such as you are, on acquiring you as her lord, will the City of Lanka be doomed along with her demons, and you put together, or what! [3-37-6]
tvat vidhah kaama vritto hi duhshiilah paapa ma.ntritah |
aatmaanam sva janam raastram sa raajaa hanti durmatih || 3-37-7
"Any king of your like who is with a self-will, ill-will, ensorcelled by evil, and malicious in intent, that king alone ruins his own city-state, his own people, even himself, as a matter of actual fact. [3-37-7]
na ca pitraa parityakto na amaryaadah katha.ncana |
na lubdho na ca duhshiilo na ca ksatriya paa.msanah || 3-37-8
na ca dharma gunair hiinaih kausalyaa aana.nda vardhanah |
na ca tiiksno hi bhuutaanaam sarva bhuuta hite ratah || 3-37-9
"Rama the enhancer of his mother Kausalya's happiness is completely forsaken by his father - no, he is not; there is unseemliness in him - no, not in the least; he is out of character - no; he is selfish - no; he is an ignoble Kshatriya - no, not at all; and he is neither a debased one insofar as the merits of righteousness are concerned, nor he is atrocious towards living beings, for he takes delight in the welfare of all beings. [3-37-8, 9]
vancitam pitaram dristvaa kaikeyyaa satya vaadinam |
karisyaami iti dharmaatmaa tatah pravrajito vanam || 3-37-10
"On seeing his father who is a proponent of truth, and whom Kaikeyi has outwitted, that virtue-souled Rama neatly decamped from Ayodhya saying that 'I will prove my father to be a real proponent of truth.' [3-37-10]
kaikeyyaah priya kaamaartham pitur dasharathasya ca |
hitvaa raajyam ca bhogaan ca pravisto dandakaa vanam || 3-37-11
"Discarding the kingdom and even royal-comforts Rama entered Dandaka forest only to fulfill the cherish of Kaikeyi, viz., kingdom for her son Bharata, and even that of Dasharatha, viz., to remain loyal to his promise to Kaikeyi. [3-37-11]
na raamah karkashah taata na avidvaan na ajita indriyah |
anritam na shrutam caiva naiva tvam vaktum ar.hhasi || 3-37-12
"Rama is ruthless - no; an unscholarly one - no; unconquered are his senses - no; and oh, boy, it is unapt of you to speak of impalpable and unheard-of topics in this way. [3-37-12]
raamo vigrahavaan dharmah saadhuh satya paraakramah |
raajaa sarvasya lokasya devaanaam iva vaasavah || 3-37-13
"Rama is the embodiment of righteousness, he is an equable person with truthfulness as his valor, and as with Indra to all gods he is the king of entire world. [3-37-13]
katham nu tasya vaidehiim raksitaam svena tejasaa |
icchase prasabham hartum prabhaam iva vivasvatah || 3-37-14
"Rama's proper resplendence is protecting Vaidehi. How then you really wish to forcibly rob her off from Rama, as though wishing to rob the Sun of his resplendence. [3-37-14]
shara arcisam anaadhrisyam caapa khadga indhanam rane |
raama agnim sahasaa diiptam na pravestum tvam arhasi || 3-37-15
"Arrows as it jets of fire, bow and sword as it firewood that fire called Rama will be blazing in war, and it will be inapt of you to enter into such an uninfringeable fire, recklessly. [3-37-15]
dhanur vyaadita diipta aasyam shara arcisam amarsanam |
caapa baana dharam tiikshnam shatru senaa apahaarinam || 3-37-16
raajyam sukham ca sa.ntyajya jiivitam ca istam aatmanah |
na ati aasaadayitum taata raama a.ntakam iha ar.hhasi || 3-37-17
"With the bow stretched to his ear becoming a gaping mouth spouting flames, arrows becoming tongues of fire spewed forth from that flaming mouth, he that Rama the reified Terminator will become fierce and insufferable when he wields bow and arrows, and oh, dear boy Ravana, it will be inapt of you to at once draw pretty nigh of such an annihilator of the armies of enemies, on discarding your kingdom, comforts and even the dear life of yours. [3-37-16, 17]
aprameyam hi tat tejo yasya saa janakaatmajaa |
na tvam samarthah taam hartum raama caapa aashrayaam vane || 3-37-18
"Which Rama's wife is Janaka's daughter that Rama is indeed an inestimable resplendence, and it will be incapable of you to steal Seetha while such a Rama's bow safeguards her in the forest, besides the firewall called his resplendence. [3-37-18]
tasya vai nara si.mhasya si.mha uraskasya bhaaminii |
praanebhyo api priyataraa bhaaryaa nityam anuvrataa || 3-37-19
"That lady Seetha is his wife, dearest than the lives of that lion-chested lion-man Rama, and in truth, she is avowed to follow him alone, in perpetuity. [3-37-19]
na saa dhar.hsayitum shakyaa maithilii ojasvinah priyaa |
diiptasya iva huta aashasya shikhaa siitaa sumadhyamaa || 3-37-20
"As the spire of blazing ritual fire cannot be abused, so also, she that curvaceous [having a smoothly curving shape] Maithili, the cherished wife of that dynamic Rama, is an impossibility for any abuse. [3-37-20]
kim udyamam vyartham imam kritvaa te raaksasaadhipa |
dristah cet tvam rane tena tat a.ntam tava jiivitam || 3-37-21
"Oh, king of demons, what is the result in making such a futile effort? If that Rama glances at you in a given war that alone ends your life. [3-37-21]
jiivitam ca sukham caiva raajyam caiva sudurlabham |
yat icchasi ciram bhoktum maa krithaa raama vipriyam || 3-37-22
"If you cherish to take pleasure for a long time in your life, in your comforts and also thus in your kingdom, which kingdom is highly impossible to achieve, do not do anything unpleasant to Rama. [3-37-22]
sa sarvaih sacivaih saardham vibhiisana puraskritaih |
ma.ntrayitvaa tu dharmisthaih kritvaa nishcayam aatmanah |
dosaanaam ca gunaanaam ca sa.mpradhaarya bala abalam || 3-37-23
aatmanah ca balam jnaatvaa raaghavasya ca tattvatah |
hitam hi tava nishcitya ksamam tvam kartum ar.hhasi || 3-37-24
"Such as you are, you should firstly deliberate with all of your ministers that have a righteous bearing, duly keeping your brother Vibheeshana at the helm of affairs, and then you take a decision on your own considering rights and wrongs of the case, and bearing in mind about your own strengths and weakness, and even on making sure of Raghava's capability in its reality, and then it will be apt of you to take up befitting action that will be conducive to your interests. [3-37-24, 25]
aham tu manye tava na ksamam rane
samaagamam kosala raaja suununaa |
idam hi bhuuyah shrinu vaakyam uttamam
ksamam ca yuktam ca nishaacara adhipa || 3-37-25
"Oh, king of nightwalkers Ravana, I for myself deem that your confrontation with Rama, the prince of Kosala, in a war is improper, and a better, befitting, and a reasonable one is this advise of mine, to which you may listen further. [3-37-25]
iti vaalmiiki raamaayane aadi kaavye aranya kaande sapta trimshah sargah
Thus, this is the 37th chapter in Aranya Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana, the First Epic poem of India.
Sriman Moola Rama Vijayate