Shloka 3.71.7
दनु-शापकथा तथा सीताहरण-प्रश्नः (Danu’s Curse Narrative and Rama’s Inquiry about Sita)
श्रिया विराजितं पुत्रं दनोस्त्वं विद्धि लक्ष्मण।।3.71.7।।इन्द्रकोपादिदं रूपं प्राप्तमेवं रणाजिरे।
śriyā virājitaṃ putraṃ danos tvaṃ viddhi lakṣmaṇa | indrakopād idaṃ rūpaṃ prāptam evaṃ raṇājire ||
O Lakṣmaṇa, know that I was once the illustrious son of Danu, resplendent with prosperity; but through Indra’s wrath on the battlefield, I came to possess this present form.
O Lakshmana! know that I was the prosperous son of demon Danu. By the wrath of Indra in the battlefeild I obtained this form.
Prosperity and status are unstable when one departs from restraint; power must be governed by dharma, otherwise one becomes vulnerable to downfall through the consequences of conflict and arrogance.
Kabandha explains his former identity and how he came to be deformed, recounting the cause—Indra’s wrath in battle.
Humility through self-disclosure: Kabandha acknowledges his fall, preparing Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa to understand the moral causality behind his condition.