जितवन्तं कृतार्थं च द्रष्टाहमचिरादिमम्।
कर्म ह्यनेन कर्तव्यं महदन्यैः सुदुष्करम्।
निष्पादयित्वा तत्कर्म ततो मां द्रष्टुमर्हति।।
jitavantaṁ kṛtārthaṁ ca draṣṭāham acirād imam
karma hy anena kartavyaṁ mahad anyaiḥ suduṣkaram
niṣpādayitvā tat karma tato māṁ draṣṭum arhati
jitavantam = victorious; kṛta-artham = successful; ca = and; draṣṭā = will see; aham = I; acirāt = soon; imam = Him; karma = task; hi = actually; anena kartavyam = He has to execute; mahat = a great; anyaiḥ = by others; suduṣkaram = that cannot be carried out; niṣpādayitvā = after He accomplishes; tat = that; karma = task; tataḥ mām = me; draṣṭum = see; arhati = He should.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhāva-dīpa: jitavantaṁ tat-karma-prāptimantam. jiḥ prāpty-arthakaḥ.
2 Indra was afraid that Rāvaṇa would become angry at him if he were to converse with Rāma. And this fear was justified. In text 3.31.13, Rāvaṇa will question an associate of his if Rāma joined hands with Indra before coming to Janasthāna where He killed 14,000 rākṣasas. Technical note: etena rāma-sambhāṣaṇe sati rāvaṇaḥ kopaṁ kartetīndrasya bhītir vyañjitā.
Indra speaks this verse while anticipating Śarabhaṅga’s thought, “[Still] you should see Rāma.”
Indra wanted to see Rāma after He becomes victorious over Rāvaṇa and therefore successful in fulfilling the purposes of the devas.
What is the loss if Indra and Rāma were to see and talk to each other and Rāma’s nature as a superhuman is exposed? Indra states that in the second line of the verse. Rāma has to execute the great task of killing Rāvaṇa and so on, which cannot be carried out by other celestials [and] He has to carry out this work while appearing as a human, [not as one superior to humans].