Shloka 39
वालिवधः
The Slaying of Vali
अथोक्षितश्शोणिततोयविस्रवै-
स्सुपुष्पिताशोक इवानिलोद्धतः।
विचेतनो वासवसूनुराहवे
विभ्रंशितेन्द्रध्वजवत्क्षितिं गतः॥ 4.16.39॥
athokṣitaś śoṇitatoyavisravaiḥ
supuṣpitāśoka ivāniloddhataḥ |
vicetano vāsavasūnur āhave
vibhraṃśitendradhvajavat kṣitiṃ gataḥ || 4.16.39 ||
Da fiel der Sohn Vasavas, von Strömen blutigen Wassers durchnässt, im Kampf bewusstlos zu Boden; wie ein üppig blühender Aśoka, vom Wind geschüttelt, wie Indras Banner, das zur Erde gestürzt ist.
'You need not be concerned about me on account of Rama. How can one who knows dharma and who has a sense of gratitude commit sin?
FAQs
The verse underscores the moral and existential truth that embodied power is fragile; dharma urges right conduct before the fall that time inevitably brings.
Vāli collapses unconscious, bleeding, and the poet uses layered similes (aśoka tree, fallen Indra-banner) to depict his downfall.
The emphasis is less on a virtue and more on a lesson: splendor and force do not protect one from consequence; ethical order ultimately prevails.