Shloka 46
दुन्दुभिवधप्रसङ्गः
The Dundubhi Episode and the Proof of Rama’s Prowess
व्यापारवीर्यधैर्यैश्च परिक्षीणं पराक्रमैः।तं तु दुन्दुभिमुद्यम्य धरण्यामभ्यपातयत्।।4.11.45।।युद्धे प्राणहरे तस्मिन्निष्पिष्टो दुन्दुभिस्तदा।पपात च महाकायः क्षितौ पञ्चत्वमागतः4.11.46।।
vyāpāravīryadhairyaiś ca parikṣīṇaṃ parākramaiḥ |
taṃ tu dundubhim udyamya dharaṇyām abhyapātayat || 4.11.45 ||
yuddhe prāṇahare tasmin niṣpiṣṭo dundubhis tadā |
papāta ca mahākāyaḥ kṣitau pañcatvam āgataḥ || 4.11.46 ||
Als Dundubhis Anstrengung, Kraft, Standhaftigkeit und Tapferkeit erschöpft waren, hob Vālī ihn empor und schleuderte ihn zu Boden. In jenem lebensraubenden Kampf wurde Dundubhi zermalmt; der riesenleibige fiel auf die Erde und fand sein Ende, indem er zu den fünf Elementen zurückkehrte.
In the fight, Dundubhi fell down, with his strength, courage and prowess dwindled. Vali lifted his huge body and dashed it down on the ground. The body of Dundubhi dissolved into the five elements.
FAQs
The verse foregrounds mortality and consequence: life ends, bodies return to elements. A dharma-centered reading urges restraint and responsibility in the use of force, because death is irreversible and ethically weighty.
The duel concludes: Dundubhi’s capacities fail, Vālī delivers the crushing final blow, and Dundubhi dies.
Decisiveness and overpowering might; at the same time, the scene implicitly raises the epic’s recurring question of how power should be morally governed.