Shloka 1.55.28
कामधेनुसैन्यप्रादुर्भावः — Kamadhenu’s Forces, Visvamitra’s Austerities, and Vasishta’s Wrath
इत्युक्त्वा परमक्रुद्धो दण्डमुद्यम्य सत्वर:।विधूममिव कालाग्निं यमदण्डमिवापरम्।।1.55.28।।
ity uktvā paramakruddho daṇḍam udyamya satvaraḥ |
vidhūmam iva kālāgniṃ yamadaṇḍam ivāparam || 1.55.28 ||
Having spoken thus, Vasiṣṭha—seized by extreme wrath—swiftly raised his staff, which shone like the smokeless fire of cosmic dissolution and like another very rod of Yama, the Lord of Death.
Exceedingly furious Vasishta quickly lifted up his staff which looked like the staff of Yama (the od of death), like smokeless fire at the time of destruction of the worlds.ityārṣē śrīmadrāmāyaṇē vālmīkīya ādikāvyē bālakāṇḍē pañcapañcāśassarga:৷৷Thus ends the fiftyfifth sarga of Balakanda of the holy Ramayana the first epic composed by sage Valmiki.
The verse highlights the awe-inspiring authority of a dharmic sage: when Dharma is threatened, a ṛṣi’s disciplined power (tapas) can act as deterrence. At the same time, it implicitly cautions that even righteous power becomes fearsome when joined with anger, urging restraint and proportionality.
After a confrontation escalates, Vasiṣṭha—provoked and furious—raises his staff, and the narration compares its destructive potency to cosmic fire and to Yama’s rod, signaling imminent overpowering of Viśvāmitra’s aggression.
Vasiṣṭha’s spiritual might rooted in tapas and authority as a brahmarṣi is emphasized—his mere readiness to act carries overwhelming force, underscoring the protective power of ascetic merit when aligned with Dharma.