Shloka 3.32.5
अरण्यकाण्डे द्वात्रिंशः सर्गः — Śūrpaṇakhā’s Report to Rāvaṇa and the Panegyric of His Might
आसीनं सूर्यसङ्काशे काञ्चने परमासने।रुक्मवेदिगतं प्राज्यं ज्वलन्तमिव पावकम्।।।।
devagandharvabhūtānām ṛṣīṇāṃ ca mahātmanām | ajeyaṃ samare śūraṃ vyāttānanaṃ ivāntakam ||
Invincible in battle even to devas, gandharvas, beings, and great seers, that warrior seemed like Death itself, jaws agape.
Ravana, sitting on the magnificent golden seat on a golden altar looked radiant like the Sun or the blazing fire.
The verse underscores that might is not dharma. Even overwhelming strength, if aligned with adharma, becomes terrifying like death—power must be restrained by righteousness.
The narrator heightens the portrait of Rāvaṇa’s fearsome power as Śūrpaṇakhā prepares to address him.
Not virtue but martial invincibility—serving as a warning that capability without dharma can become destructive.