Shloka 4.14.3
किष्किन्धायां सुग्रीवस्य नादः — Sugriva’s War-Cry at Kishkindha
ततस्स निनदं घोरं कृत्वा युद्धाय चाह्वयत्।परिवारैः परिवृतो नादैर्भिन्दन्निवाम्बरम्4.14.3।।गर्जन्निव महामेघो वायुवेगपुरस्सरः।
tasya śabdena vitrastā gāvo yānti hataprabhāḥ |
rājadoṣaparāmṛṣṭāḥ kulastriya ivākulāḥ || 4.14.20 ||
Startled by his roar, the cows fled, their calm luster gone—like noble women thrown into confusion when royal authority fails and disorder touches the realm.
Sugriva, surrounded by his companions, raised his voice as if piercing the sky, roaring like a huge thundering cloud, challenging Vali to a duel.
It gestures to rājadharma: when the ruler’s protective duty falters, the vulnerable are shaken and social order is disturbed—protection is a central moral obligation of kingship.
Sugriva’s roar is so intense that animals panic; the poet uses a social simile to illustrate the magnitude of upheaval.
Indirectly, the verse emphasizes the king’s duty of protection (a virtue of governance), by showing the chaos that follows its failure.