Shloka 4.8.23
मैत्रीप्रतिज्ञा-वैरकारणप्रश्नः (Friendship Vow and Inquiry into the Cause of Enmity)
इमे हि मे महावेगा पत्रिणस्तिग्मतेजसः।कार्तिकेयवनोद्भूताश्शरा हेमविभूषिताः4.8.22।।कङ्कपत्रपरिच्छन्ना महेन्द्राशनिसन्निभाः।सुपर्वाणस्सुतीक्ष्णाग्रास्सरोषा भुजगा इव4.8.23।।
bhrātṛ-saṃjñam amitraṃ te vālinam kṛta-kilbiṣam | śarair vinihataṃ paśya vikīrṇam iva parvatam ||
Behold Vāli—called ‘brother’ yet your foe, stained by wrongdoing—struck down by my arrows, shattered like a mountain rent asunder.
'Here are my highspeed, winged arrows glowing like fierce fire, born out of Kartikeya's bed of reeds.They are smooth and welljointed, decked with gold, comparable in strength to great Indra's thunderbolt, very sharp with pointed tips looking like angry serpents.
Dharma judges by actions, not labels: one may be ‘brother’ in name, yet an enemy by unjust deeds; wrongdoing warrants correction.
Rāma intensifies his assurance by describing Vāli’s impending defeat through his arrows.
Rāma’s unwavering resolve to uphold justice and protect the wronged ally.