नीतिं शास्त्रविधिं चैव शत्रोरपि गृहाण हि ।उपदेशं हि कर्तव्यो यस्यासौ शास्त्रवित्तमः
nītiṃ śāstravidhiṃ caiva śatrorapiGṛhāṇa hi | upadeśaṃ hi kartavyo yasyāsau śāstravittamaḥ
Rama sends Lakshmana to the dying Ravana to receive his final teachings — and Ravana, scholar of scholars, teaches Lakshmana the essence of statecraft and wisdom. This is the Yuddha Kanda's most unexpected reversal: the greatest teacher in the war is the antagonist. Rama's instruction — "go learn from him before he dies" — is the Ramayana's non-sectarian recognition that wisdom has no side. Knowledge is valid wherever it is found, even in the one who has been your enemy. The verse frames this as an obligation: "kartavyo" — it ought to be done. Refusing to learn from someone because of what they did is not principle; it is pride.
अर्थMeaning
नीति और शास्त्र-विधि शत्रु से भी ग्रहण करो। जो शास्त्र का सर्वश्रेष्ठ ज्ञाता हो — उससे उपदेश लेना उचित है।
अक्षरशः अनुवाद — मूल संस्कृत श्लोक के प्रत्येक पद का प्रत्यक्ष अर्थ।
Receive the teaching of statecraft and scripture even from an enemy. Teaching should be received from whoever is the greatest knower of scripture.
Direct literal rendering preserving Sanskrit philosophical terminology.
विज्ञान एवं आधुनिक उपयोगScience & Modern Application
शोध संदर्भResearch context · not scriptureComparative Research Noteशोध टिप्पणी
नीति और शास्त्र-विधि शत्रु से भी ग्रहण करो। इसे किसी एक घटना का संयोग न मानकर एक नियम की तरह पढ़ना इस पंक्ति का बल है।
A modern parallel offered for reflection. It is not part of the scripture, and it has not been checked against the original sources it may allude to.
स्रोतSources and editionSources and editionस्रोत एवं संस्करण
Content status
- Original text
- Translation · from the source archive
No independent human review is recorded for this verse yet. How this site is made.
- Sanskrit edition
- Imported text; printed edition not recorded. Open Sanskrit text archives (see the source link)
- Translation
- Not recorded. Some Hindi and English text is AI-assisted and is flagged where it appears.
- Last updated
- 2026-10-23
- Licence note (as recorded)
- Community dataset — verify license terms at source repo before redistribution.
Found a mistake?