Shloka 3.21.17
खर-शूर्पणखा-संवादः | Khara and Surpanakha: Lament, Reproach, and the Janasthana Crisis
शूरमानी न शूरस्त्वं मिथ्यारोपितविक्रमः।।।।मानुषौ यो न शक्नोषि हन्तुं तौ रामलक्ष्मणौ।
śūramānī na śūras tvaṁ mithyāropitavikramaḥ | mānuṣau yo na śaknoṣi hantuṁ tau rāmalakṣmaṇau ||
You boast of being a hero, yet you are no hero—your ‘valor’ is only falsely claimed—since you cannot even kill those two humans, Rama and Lakshmana.
You call yourself a hero, yet are not able to kill two humans like Rama and Lakshmana. Your claim to heroism is false. You are not a hero at all.
The verse warns indirectly that pride without substance leads to moral and practical collapse. Dharma requires integrity—claims of strength should align with reality and righteous purpose.
Śūrpaṇakhā shames Khara by calling his heroism false because Rama and Lakshmana—mere ‘humans’ in her framing—remain undefeated.
By negative example, it emphasizes authentic valor joined with truth; empty boasting (mithyā-vikrama) is condemned.