Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 104, Shloka 9
रावणशूलप्रक्षेपः
Ravana Hurls the Trident; Rama Counters with Indra’s Javelin
एतस्मिन्नन्तरेक्रोधाद्राघवस्य स रावणः ।प्रहर्तुकामोदुष्टात्मास्पृशन् प्रहरणंमहत् ।।।।वज्रसारंमहानादंसर्वशत्रुनिबर्हणम् ।शैलशृङ्गनिभैःकूटैश्चित्तदृष्टिभयावहम् ।।।।सधूममिवतीक्ष्णाग्रंयुगान्ताग्निचमोपमम् ।अतिरौद्रमनासाद्यंकालेनापिदुरासदम् ।।।।त्रासनंसर्वभूतानांदारणंभेदनंतथा ।प्रदीप्तमिवरोषेणशूलंजग्राहरावणः ।।।।
etasminn antare krodhād rāghavasya sa rāvaṇaḥ |
prahartukāmo duṣṭātmā spṛśan praharaṇaṃ mahat ||
vajrasāraṃ mahānādaṃ sarvaśatrunibarhaṇam |
śailaśṛṅganibhaiḥ kūṭaiś cittadṛṣṭibhayāvaham ||
sadhūmam iva tīkṣṇāgraṃ yugāntāgnicamopamam |
atiraudram anāsādyaṃ kālenāpi durāsadam ||
trāsanaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ dāraṇaṃ bhedanaṃ tathā |
pradīptam iva roṣeṇa śūlaṃ jagrāha rāvaṇaḥ ||
Just then, Rāvaṇa—evil at heart—burning with anger at Rāghava and eager to strike, laid his hand upon a mighty weapon. It was hard as a thunderbolt, roaring loudly, fit to crush every enemy; its spikes were like mountain-peaks and terrifying even to imagine. Smoke-like and razor-pointed, it blazed like the fire at the end of an age—fierce, unapproachable, and difficult to withstand even as Death itself. A terror to all beings—tearing and splitting—Rāvaṇa, inflamed with rage, seized that blazing śūla (trident/spear) to attack.
In the meantime, the evil self Ravana who is called so, as he makes others cry, in intense anger making loud noise, stroking an unassailable weapon which was like the thunderbolt, capable of killing all enemies, a spike which closely resembled mountain peaks, dreadful even to think, like a mass of smoke, sharp and pointed, blazing like at the dissolution of the universe, very frightening, difficult to hand le, like the god of death, a terror for all beings, frightening, tearing, splitting, glowing like trident seized hold of to attack Rama.
FAQs
Uncontrolled krodha (anger) drives one toward destructive, adharmic choices. The verse frames Rāvaṇa’s rage as a moral and psychological downfall—power without restraint becomes a threat to all beings.
During the battlefield confrontation with Rāma, Rāvaṇa—enraged—selects and grips a terrifying śūla-like weapon, preparing to strike.
By contrast (implicitly), the virtue of self-restraint (dama) is highlighted: the narrative portrays Rāvaṇa’s lack of restraint as the opposite of righteous conduct.