Ramayana — Sundara Kanda, Sarga 53, Shloka 8
लाङ्गूलदाह-पर्यटनम्
The Burning Tail and the Parade through Laṅkā
तैलेन परिषिच्याथ तेऽग्निं तत्राभ्यपातयन्।लाङ्गूलेन प्रदीप्तेन राक्षसांस्तानपातयत्।।5.53.8।।रोषामर्षपरीतात्मा बालसूर्यसमाननः।
tailena pariṣicyātha te 'gniṁ tatrābhyapātayan | lāṅgūlena pradīptena rākṣasāṁs tān apātayat || 5.53.8 || roṣāmarṣaparītātmā bālasūryasamānanaḥ |
Dann tränkten sie ihn mit Öl und zündeten ihn an. Hanumān, dessen Antlitz der aufgehenden Sonne glich, von Zorn und Empörung entflammt, streckte jene Rākṣasas mit seinem brennenden Schweif nieder.
The demons soaked the tail and set fire to it. His face burning in anger shone like the rising Sun and his mind seized with indignation, he struck them with the burning tail.
FAQs
Righteous force against adharma: when violence is used to uphold a just mission (protecting Sītā’s cause and resisting tyranny), it is framed as corrective rather than cruel.
The rākṣasas ignite Hanumān’s oil-soaked tail; Hanumān immediately turns the punishment into a weapon, attacking his captors.
Tejas (radiant power) and audārya-in-action: intense energy directed toward dismantling adharma, not toward personal vendetta.