Shloka 67
लङ्कादाह-प्रचोदनं तथा वानर-राक्षस-समरारम्भः
The Burning of Lanka and the Outbreak of Battle
देहीत्यन्योददात्यन्योददामीत्यपरःपुनः ।।।।किंक्लेशयसितिष्ठेतितत्रान्योन्यंबभाषिरे ।
dehīty anyo dadāty anyo dadāmīty aparaḥ punaḥ | kiṃ kleśayasi tiṣṭheti tatrānyonyaṃ babhāṣire ||
Dort riefen sie einander zu: Einer schrie: „Schlag zu!“; ein anderer erwiderte: „Ich schlage!“; wieder ein anderer: „Ich werde schlagen!“ — und andere höhnten: „Warum klagst du? Steh deinen Mann!“
There they conversed this way with one another 'One said hit me and another one offered to hit,', again another intervened and said, 'Why are you crying?' meaning I offer resistance, one said 'Why are you suffering like this?'.
FAQs
Speech (vāc) carries moral weight: taunts and commands in battle can inflame suffering; the Ramayana repeatedly upholds truth and measured speech as dharmic ideals, even when conflict pressures the mind.
In the thick of battle, fighters shout challenges, boasts, and taunts, urging one another to strike and to endure.
Steadfastness (sthiti/dhairya) is demanded—“stand your ground”—though expressed through harsh battlefield rhetoric.