Shloka 1.40.30
सगरपुत्राणां रसातलगमनम् — The Descent of Sagara’s Sons and the Wrath of Kapila
ततस्तेनाप्रमेयेन कपिलेन महात्मना।भस्मराशीकृतास्सर्वे काकुत्स्थ सगरात्मजा:।।।।
tatas tenāprameyena kapilena mahātmanā | bhasmarāśīkṛtāḥ sarve kākutstha sagarātmajāḥ |
Thereafter, O Kakutstha, all the sons of Sagara were reduced to heaps of ash by that great-souled Kapila, whose power was beyond measure.
O son of Kakusthas! all the sons of Sagara were reduced to a heap of ashes, by that magnanimous Kapila, whose power was beyond imagination".ityārṣē śrīmadrāmāyaṇē vālmīkīya ādikāvyē bālakāṇḍē catvāriṅśassarga:৷৷Thus ends the fortieth sarga of Balakanda of the holy Ramayana the first epic composed by sage Valmiki.
Adharma—especially arrogance and violent accusation toward the holy—brings swift ruin. Dharma teaches reverence, truthfulness, and restraint as safeguards against catastrophic consequences.
Kapila’s response results in the destruction of Sagara’s sons, who become ashes.
Kapila’s spiritual potency (tapas) is emphasized; for the broader moral arc, the implied virtue is humility before sanctity and commitment to satya.