Shloka 1.56.19
बालकाण्ड ५६: विश्वामित्र–वसिष्ठ अस्त्रसंघर्षः (Visvamitra and Vasistha: Contest of Divine Weapons)
प्राज्वलद्ब्रह्मदण्डश्च वसिष्ठस्य करोद्यत:।विधूम इव कालाग्निर्यमदण्ड इवापर:।।।।
romakūpeṣu sarveṣu vasiṣṭhasya mahātmanaḥ | marīcya iva niṣpetur agner dhūmākulārciṣaḥ || 1.56.18 ||
From every pore of the great-souled Vasiṣṭha, flames of fire—tangled with smoke—burst forth like rays of light.
The staff of Brahma in Vasishta's hand, resembling smokeless fire at the end of the dissolution of the worlds inflamed like another rod of death.
Inner discipline (tapas) generates transformative ‘tejas’; the imagery teaches that moral-spiritual force is not merely symbolic but is treated as a real power that upholds order.
As Vasiṣṭha absorbs the Brahmāstra, his tejas becomes visibly manifest as fiery radiance erupting from his body.
Tapas (austerity) and spiritual luminosity—power earned through disciplined practice rather than aggression.