Shloka 3.35.8
मारीचाश्रमगमनम् (Ravana’s Journey to Maricha’s Hermitage)
स श्वेतवालव्यजनः श्वेतच्छत्रो दशाननः।स्निग्धवैदूर्यसंकाश स्तप्तकाञ्चनकुण्डलः।।।।विंशद्भुजो दशग्रीवो दर्शनीयपरिच्छदः।त्रिदशारिर्मुनीन्द्रघ्नो दशशीर्ष इवाद्रिराट्।।।।कामगं रथमास्थाय शुशुभे राक्षसेश्वरः।विद्युन्मण्डलवान्मेघस्सबलाक इवाम्बरे।।।।
sa śvetavālavyajanaḥ śvetacchatro daśānanaḥ |
snigdhavaidūryasaṅkāśas taptakāñcanakuṇḍalaḥ ||
viṁśad-bhujo daśagrīvo darśanīya-paricchadaḥ |
tridaśārir munīndraghno daśaśīrṣa ivādrirāṭ ||
kāmagam ratham āsthāya śuśubhe rākṣaseśvaraḥ |
vidyunmaṇḍalavān meghaḥ sabalāka ivāmbare ||
That ten-faced lord of the rākṣasas—fanned with white yak-tail whisks and shaded by a white parasol—shone, gleaming like smooth vaidūrya and wearing earrings of heated gold. With twenty arms and ten necks, splendidly attired, an enemy of the gods and a slayer of great sages, his ten heads looked like a mountain-king with ten peaks. Mounting a chariot that could go wherever one wished, the rākṣasa-king blazed in the sky like a cloud ringed with lightning and accompanied by cranes.
Ravana, enemy of the gods, slayer of towering sages, with white yak-tail fans, and white parasols, shining like smooth vaidurya, wearing pure gold ear-rings, clad in attractive attire, ten necks with twenty strong hands, ten heads looking like ten mountain peaks, a cloud in the sky encircled by lightnings and accompanied by cranes, ascended the chariot that could go wherever he desired.
The verse highlights how external splendor and power can coexist with adharma: Rāvaṇa is portrayed as magnificent yet identified as an enemy of the gods and a killer of sages, reminding that dharma is measured by conduct, not appearance.
By truthfully naming Rāvaṇa’s harmful deeds alongside his brilliance, the narrative maintains satya: it does not romanticize wrongdoing, but presents an honest moral contrast—glory without righteousness leads toward downfall.