Mahabharata 3.262.30-38

Devanāgarī

एतस्मिन्न् अन्तरे रक्षो रावणः प्रत्यदृश्यत ॥
अभव्यो भव्यरूपेण भस्मच्छन्न इवानलः ॥
यतिवेषप्रतिच्छन्नो जिहीर्षुस् ताम् अनिन्दिताम् ॥
सा तम् आलक्ष्य संप्राप्तं धर्मज्ञा जनकात्मजा ॥
निमन्त्रयाम् आस तदा फलमूलाशनादिभिः ॥
अवमन्य स तत् सर्वं स्वरूपं प्रतिपद्य च ॥
सान्त्वयाम् आस वैदेहीम् इति राक्षसपुंगवः ॥
सीते राक्षसराजो ऽहं रावणो नाम विश्रुतः ॥
मम लङ्का पुरी नाम्ना रम्या पारे महोदधेः ॥
तत्र त्वं वरनारीषु शोभिष्यसि मया सह ॥
भार्या मे भव सुश्रोणि तापसं त्यज राघवम् ॥
एवमादीनि वाक्यानि श्रुत्वा सीताथ जानकी ॥
पिधाय कर्णौ सुश्रोणी मैवम् इत्य् अब्रवीद् वचः ॥
प्रपतेद् द्यौः सनक्षत्रा पृथिवी शकलीभवेत् ॥
शैत्यम् अग्निर् इयान् नाहं त्यजेयं रघुनन्दनम् ॥
कथं हि भिन्नकरटं पद्मिनं वनगोचरम् ॥
उपस्थाय महानागं करेणुः सूकरं स्पृशेत् ॥
कथं हि पीत्वा माध्वीकं पीत्वा च मधुमाधवीम् ॥
लोभं सौवीरके कुर्यान् नारी का चिद् इति स्मरे ॥

Transliteration (IAST)

etasminn antare rakṣo rāvaṇaḥ pratyadṛśyata ||
abhavyo bhavyarūpeṇa bhasmacchanna ivānalaḥ ||
yativeṣapraticchanno jihīrṣus tām aninditām ||
sā tam ālakṣya saṃprāptaṃ dharmajñā janakātmajā ||
nimantrayām āsa tadā phalamūlāśanādibhiḥ ||
avamanya sa tat sarvaṃ svarūpaṃ pratipadya ca ||
sāntvayām āsa vaidehīm iti rākṣasapuṃgavaḥ ||
sīte rākṣasarājo 'haṃ rāvaṇo nāma viśrutaḥ ||
mama laṅkā purī nāmnā ramyā pāre mahodadheḥ ||
tatra tvaṃ varanārīṣu śobhiṣyasi mayā saha ||
bhāryā me bhava suśroṇi tāpasaṃ tyaja rāghavam ||
evamādīni vākyāni śrutvā sītātha jānakī ||
pidhāya karṇau suśroṇī maivam ity abravīd vacaḥ ||
prapated dyauḥ sanakṣatrā pṛthivī śakalībhavet ||
śaityam agnir iyān nāhaṃ tyajeyaṃ raghunandanam ||
kathaṃ hi bhinnakaraṭaṃ padminaṃ vanagocaram ||
upasthāya mahānāgaṃ kareṇuḥ sūkaraṃ spṛśet ||
kathaṃ hi pītvā mādhvīkaṃ pītvā ca madhumādhavīm ||
lobhaṃ sauvīrake kuryān nārī kā cid iti smare ||

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

एतस्मिन्न् अन्तरे रक्षो रावणः प्रत्यदृश्यत ॥ अभव्यो भव्यरूपेण भस्मच्छन्न इवानलः ॥ यतिवेषप्रतिच्छन्नो जिहीर्षुस् ताम् अनिन्दिताम् ॥ सा तम् आलक्ष्य संप्राप्तं धर्मज्ञा जनकात्मजा ॥ निमन्त्रयाम् आस तदा फलमूलाशनादिभिः ॥ अवमन्य स तत् सर्वं स्वरूपं प्रतिपद्य च ॥ सान्त्वयाम् आस वैदेहीम् इति राक्षसपुंगवः ॥ सीते राक्षसराजो ऽहं रावणो नाम विश्रुतः ॥ मम लङ्का पुरी नाम्ना रम्या पारे महोदधेः ॥ तत्र त्वं वरनारीषु शोभिष्यसि मया सह ॥ भार्या मे भव सुश्रोणि तापसं त्यज राघवम् ॥ एवमादीनि वाक्यानि श्रुत्वा सीताथ जानकी ॥ पिधाय कर्णौ सुश्रोणी मैवम् इत्य् अब्रवीद् वचः ॥ प्रपतेद् द्यौः सनक्षत्रा पृथिवी शकलीभवेत् ॥ शैत्यम् अग्निर् इयान् नाहं त्यजेयं रघुनन्दनम् ॥ कथं हि भिन्नकरटं पद्मिनं वनगोचरम् ॥ उपस्थाय महानागं करेणुः सूकरं स्पृशेत् ॥ कथं हि पीत्वा माध्वीकं पीत्वा च मधुमाधवीम् ॥ लोभं सौवीरके कुर्यान् नारी का चिद् इति स्मरे ॥etasminn antare rakṣo rāvaṇaḥ pratyadṛśyata || abhavyo bhavyarūpeṇa bhasmacchanna ivānalaḥ || yativeṣapraticchanno jihīrṣus tām aninditām || sā tam ālakṣya saṃprāptaṃ dharmajñā janakātmajā || nimantrayām āsa tadā phalamūlāśanādibhiḥ || avamanya sa tat sarvaṃ svarūpaṃ pratipadya ca || sāntvayām āsa vaidehīm iti rākṣasapuṃgavaḥ || sīte rākṣasarājo 'haṃ rāvaṇo nāma viśrutaḥ || mama laṅkā purī nāmnā ramyā pāre mahodadheḥ || tatra tvaṃ varanārīṣu śobhiṣyasi mayā saha || bhāryā me bhava suśroṇi tāpasaṃ tyaja rāghavam || evamādīni vākyāni śrutvā sītātha jānakī || pidhāya karṇau suśroṇī maivam ity abravīd vacaḥ || prapated dyauḥ sanakṣatrā pṛthivī śakalībhavet || śaityam agnir iyān nāhaṃ tyajeyaṃ raghunandanam || kathaṃ hi bhinnakaraṭaṃ padminaṃ vanagocaram || upasthāya mahānāgaṃ kareṇuḥ sūkaraṃ spṛśet || kathaṃ hi pītvā mādhvīkaṃ pītvā ca madhumādhavīm || lobhaṃ sauvīrake kuryān nārī kā cid iti smare ||At that moment Ravana appears in the guise of an ascetic, an evil being in a holy form, like fire hidden under ashes, wishing to abduct the blameless Sita; the daughter of Janaka, who knows dharma, welcomes him with fruits, roots, and other food; Ravana rejects all of it, assumes his true form, and gently tells Sita that he is the renowned Ravana, king of the rakshasas, and that his splendid city of Lanka lies beyond the great ocean; let her shine there among the finest women together with him, become his wife, and abandon the ascetic Raghava; hearing these words, Sita covers her ears and says: 'It shall not be so'; the sky with its stars may fall, the earth may split apart, fire may turn cold, but she will not abandon Raghunandana; how could a cow-elephant who has served a great forest elephant with temples streaked with musth touch a boar; how could a woman who has drunk the finest honeyed wine crave sour sauviraka?

Translation

At that moment Ravana appeared in the guise of an ascetic: an evil being in a holy form, like fire hidden under ashes, seeking to abduct the blameless Sita. The daughter of Janaka, who knew dharma, welcomed him with fruits, roots, and other food. But he scorned all of it, assumed his true form, and said gently: 'Sita, I am the king of the rakshasas, known as Ravana. My splendid city of Lanka lies beyond the great ocean. There you will shine among the finest women, together with me. Become my wife, fair-hipped one, and abandon the ascetic Raghava.' Hearing such words, Sita covered her ears and said: 'It shall not be so. The sky with its stars may fall, the earth may split apart, fire may turn cold, but I will not abandon Raghunandana. How could a cow-elephant who has served a great forest elephant, its temples streaked with musth, touch a boar? How could a woman who has drunk the finest honeyed wine crave sour sauviraka?'

Commentary

Sita does not dispute Ravana's might; she rejects him as a false authority. Her fidelity to Rama rests not on outward protection but on an inner belonging to dharma.

Version

458015b04c48 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:30:22 PM UTC

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