Shloka 886
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
हरिष्ये रावणं रौद्रं सगणं लोककण्टकम् । ब्रह्मन्! वे देवकार्यकी सिद्धिके लिये मेरे सहायक होंगे। तदनन्तर मैं पुलस्त्यकुलांगार भयंकर राक्षसराज रावणको, जो समस्त जगतके लिये भयावह होगा, उसके गणोंसहित मार डालूँगा
hariṣye rāvaṇaṃ raudraṃ sagaṇaṃ lokakaṇṭakam | brahman! ye devakāryakī siddhike liye mere sahāyak hoṅge | tadanantaraṃ ahaṃ pulastyakulāṅgāraṃ bhayaṅkaraṃ rākṣasarājaṃ rāvaṇaṃ, yo samasta jagatke liye bhayāvaha hogā, tasya gaṇaiḥ saha mārayiṣye |
Bhishma said: “O Brahmin, I shall rely on those who will aid me in accomplishing the gods’ purpose. Thereafter I will destroy Ravana, the fierce king of the Rakshasas, the scourge of the worlds, together with his followers—Ravana, the dreadful ember of Pulastya’s lineage, who will become a terror to all creation.”
(भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames the removal of a world-harming tyrant as a dharmic act when undertaken for the protection of beings and in alignment with a higher, divinely sanctioned purpose (devakārya). It emphasizes that force, though grave, can be ethically contextualized as restorative when directed against a ‘scourge of the world’ and supported by rightful allies.
The speaker declares an intention to eliminate Ravana—described as fierce and a tormentor of the worlds—along with his followers. He also notes that certain helpers will aid him in fulfilling the gods’ objective, after which Ravana will be slain.