Shloka 886
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
हरिष्ये रावणं रौद्रं सगणं लोककण्टकम् । ब्रह्मन्! वे देवकार्यकी सिद्धिके लिये मेरे सहायक होंगे। तदनन्तर मैं पुलस्त्यकुलांगार भयंकर राक्षसराज रावणको, जो समस्त जगतके लिये भयावह होगा, उसके गणोंसहित मार डालूँगा
hariṣye rāvaṇaṃ raudraṃ sagaṇaṃ lokakaṇṭakam | brahman! ye devakāryakī siddhike liye mere sahāyak hoṅge | tadanantaraṃ ahaṃ pulastyakulāṅgāraṃ bhayaṅkaraṃ rākṣasarājaṃ rāvaṇaṃ, yo samasta jagatke liye bhayāvaha hogā, tasya gaṇaiḥ saha mārayiṣye |
Bhishma sprach: „O Brahmane! Auf jene, die mir helfen, den Zweck der Götter zu vollenden, werde ich mich stützen. Danach werde ich Rāvaṇa vernichten, den grimmigen König der Rākṣasas, die Geißel der Welten, samt all seinen Gefolgsleuten — Rāvaṇa, die schreckliche Glut aus Pulastyas Geschlecht, der zum Schrecken der ganzen Schöpfung werden wird.“
(भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames the removal of a world-harming tyrant as a dharmic act when undertaken for the protection of beings and in alignment with a higher, divinely sanctioned purpose (devakārya). It emphasizes that force, though grave, can be ethically contextualized as restorative when directed against a ‘scourge of the world’ and supported by rightful allies.
The speaker declares an intention to eliminate Ravana—described as fierce and a tormentor of the worlds—along with his followers. He also notes that certain helpers will aid him in fulfilling the gods’ objective, after which Ravana will be slain.