Shloka 18
अक्षवधः (The Slaying of Prince Aksha)
Sundarakāṇḍa Sarga 47
ततस्स बाणासनचित्रकार्मुक श्शरप्रवर्षो युधि राक्षसाम्बुदः।शरान्मुमोचाशु हरीश्वराचले वलाहको वृष्टिमिवाचलोत्तमे।।5.47.18।।
tatassa bāṇāsana-citra-kārmukaḥ śara-pravarṣo yudhi rākṣasāmbudaḥ | śarān mumocāśu harīśvarācale valāhako vṛṣṭim ivācalottame ||5.47.18||
Da ließ jener Rākṣasa‑Prinz — mit Köcher und wundersamem Bogen gerüstet — im Kampf einen schnellen Pfeilregen auf den affengleichen Gebirgsherrn niedergehen, wie eine Wolke Regen auf einen hohen Berg herabgießt.
Then Hanuman saw prince Aksha, endowed with excessive splendour, power andenergy advancing in a fierce manner like a cloud in the battle. Then Hanuman happy (to see the heroic prince) roared like a clap of thunder.
FAQs
The verse depicts kṣatra-dharma as disciplined martial engagement—Akṣa fights with skill and intensity. It also implicitly raises the Ramayana’s ethical lens: power in battle must be directed toward rightful ends, not merely displayed.
Akṣa begins the direct combat by unleashing a heavy volley of arrows at Hanumān.
Martial prowess and determination—Akṣa’s capacity to sustain an overwhelming attack, likened to a rain-cloud.