Shloka 4.53.31
स्वयम्प्रभा-विमोचनम् — Svayamprabha Leads the Vanaras Out (Time-Limit Crisis and Counsel)
स पूर्वं बद्धवैरो मां राजा दृष्ट्वा व्यतिक्रमम्।।।।घातयिष्यति दण्डेन तीक्ष्णेन कृतनिश्चयः।
sa pūrvaṃ baddhavairo māṃ rājā dṛṣṭvā vyatikramam |
ghātayiṣyati daṇḍena tīkṣṇena kṛtaniścayaḥ ||
That king—who has long borne enmity toward me—seeing this transgression, will resolutely punish me with a harsh penalty, having firmly decided so.
'The Monkey-king nursed bitter enmity against me even earlier. Now seeing my lapse, he will decidedly inflict severe punishment on me.
Punishment (daṇḍa) should ideally be dhārmic and not driven by personal enmity; the verse exposes the danger of mixing justice with vengeance.
Aṅgada fears that Sugrīva—already hostile to him—will use the failed mission as a pretext for severe punishment.
Realism and self-awareness; Aṅgada reads political motives and personal hostility in leadership.