Shloka 21
किष्किन्धायां सुग्रीवस्य नादः
Sugriva’s War-Cry at Kishkindha
द्रवन्ति च मृगाश्शीघ्रं भग्ना इव रणे हयाः।पतन्ति च खगा भूमौ क्षीणपुण्या इव ग्रहाः4.14.21।।
dravanti ca mṛgāḥ śīghraṁ bhagnā iva raṇe hayāḥ |
patanti ca khagā bhūmau kṣīṇapuṇyā iva grahāḥ || 4.14.21 ||
اندفعت الظباء مسرعةً كخيولٍ انكسرت في ساحة القتال؛ وسقطت الطيور إلى الأرض كالكواكب تهوي حين ينفد رصيدُها من الفضل.
Sugriva, proficient in the performance of any task, one who appeared like the rising Sun and moved like a proud lion, said to Rama:
FAQs
The simile of ‘merit exhausted’ reflects the dharmic worldview that moral force (puṇya) sustains stability; when it declines, downfall follows—an ethical-cosmic linkage common in Itihasa.
The natural world reacts dramatically to the tumult of the challenge—animals flee and birds fall, intensifying the scene’s portent.
Not a direct virtue, but the verse magnifies the awe-inspiring power of the moment, implying the seriousness with which dharmic conflicts shake the world.