न हि धर्मार्थसिद्ध्यर्थं पानमेवं प्रशस्यते

न हि धर्मार्थसिद्ध्यर्थं पानमेवं प्रशस्यते।

पानादर्थश्च धर्मश्च कामश्च परिहीयते॥

श्रीमद्वाल्मीकीये रामायणे किष्किन्धाकाण्डे ३३-४६

na hi dharmārthasiddhyarthaṁ pānamevaṁ praśasyate|

pānādarthaśca dharmaśca kāmaśca parihīyate||

śrīmadvālmīkīye rāmāyane kiṣkindhākāṇḍe 33-46

This is what Lakshmana says in the Kishkindaakandam of Valmikiramayanam..

Sure, it is not desirable to indulge in drinking intoxicating hooch if one desires the fulfillment of his Dharma or proper living and gain of wealth and welfare..

In fact, when one gets addicted to drinks, his proper conduct and lifestyle, his wealth, and the fulfillment of all his fond desires.. all these received setback and he is sliding down in his stature..

The four purposes of life are Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha..

Once a fellow consumes hooch, his mind gets clouded and his sense of proper behaviour and right action are lost.. His dharma gets hit there.

Dependence on drinks leads to wastage of resources through wrong spending, and careless spending too.. and this, coupled with the lack of right activity on the part of the drinker, leads to depletion and destruction of wealth, if any in the possessing of the drinker.

And an addict loses all senses and his social standing is eroded, and he has no proper resources and he has no capacity to pursue his fond desires and dreams.. So his Kama is also gone.

Of course, Lakshmana does not talk about Moksha.. But if a fellow indulges in excessive drinking, Moksha is ensured if quick death is indicated by that word.. But if Moksha means emancipation and happiness in the life after death, a drinker can hardly hope for it..

So drinking is a killer in the present and future too..

(The backdrop of the statement is this.

After Sugriva the monkey and Rama became friends, and Rama restored the leadership of monkeys to Sugriva after killing Bali, and Sugriva had promised to help Rama in searching for the lost Sita.. a few months elapsed.. Sugriva just entered his city Kishkinda and indulged himself in wine and women, while Rama and Lakshmana were expecting proper action by Sugriva in the search of Sita.. The brothers were spending their time in the outskirts of Kishkinda, braving the rainy season,, just hoping that Sugriva would come out and take proper action.. However months passed and it looked as if Sugriva had conveniently forgotten his part in the pact.. Rama was enraged, and he sends Lakshmana to Kishkinda with a note of warning..

When Lakshmana enters the city, anger personified, Sugriva is stuck with mortal fear.. He send Thara, the beautiful queen of Bali to meet and pacify Lakshmana.

Of course Lakshmana is a Royal gentleman and he would not show anger to a lady..

So he addresses Thara in calm words.. He is warning against the attitude of Sugriva who has forgotten his duties and is just spending his time in consuming hooch..

The warning not is that if Sugriva just failed to forget his commitment to Rama, then his Dharma, Artha and Kama all could vanish in a moment .. if the anger of Rama and Lakshmana worked against him.)

Messages against drinking are in plenty.. Such messages are read, praised, but mostly not put into practice.

One more such message in the hope that it would do some good to all.