Chapter 53 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 53

Valmiki Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda

Verse 53.9

इदं व्यसनमालोक्य राज्ञश्च मतिविभ्रमम्। काम एवार्थधर्माभ्यां गरीयानिति मे मतिः॥

idaṃ vyasanamālokya rājñaśca mativibhramam| kāma evārthadharmābhyāṃ garīyāniti me matiḥ||

English Meaning

Viewing this calamity that has overtaken us) and the disorder that has taken place in the senses of the monarch, I deem even lust as more potent than either virtue or interest.

M.N. Dutt (1891–94, public domain)