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The Seventy-First Chapter
This river-like crooked, terrible, Dharma-Artha-destroying, and the mine of all inauspiciousness, should be abandoned by the virtuous with effort. ||56||
She who was like nectar, who seemed to nourish me with her beauty, and who was more beloved than all the goddesses, is now, with her heart attached to another, like a pot filled with poison, causing me great distress. ||57-58||
She who, even though she did not desire me, used to make my mind restless, she who was the object of my constant thoughts, is now like withered grass, deserving of no respect. ||59||
Even if this Sita, whose heart is attached to another man, desires me now, what pleasure can I derive from her, devoid of true affection? ||60||
At the time when my wise brother Vibhishana was favorable to me and gave me good advice, this wicked mind did not attain peace. ||61||
Rather, it became subject to delusion due to his advice, which is natural, for the minds of virtuous men are often under control. ||62||
After considering this, Ravana thought, "Yesterday, I had a council with my ministers regarding the war. Now, what is the point of discussing friendship with those who are condemned by the heroes?" ||63||
To fight and to show compassion are two contradictory things. Alas! I, like an ordinary man, have fallen into this great predicament. ||64||
If I surrender Sita to Rama out of compassion now, the world will consider me weak, for it is difficult to understand the minds of all. ||65||
He who is free to do whatever he wants, lives happily, being cruel. A man like me, whose heart is soft with compassion, lives in sorrow. ||66||
If I defeat Rama and Lakshmana, who are skilled in the arts of the lion and the Garuda, in battle, capture them alive, and then, with all my wealth, return Sita to Rama, I will not be guilty of any sin. ||67-68||
And the great public censure arising from fear and injustice...