Shloka 5.36.13
सीताप्रत्यय-प्रदानम् (Sita’s Recognition and Reassurance by the Envoy)
कुशली यदि काकुत्स्थः किं नु सागरमेखलाम्।महीं दहति कोपेन युगान्ताग्निरिवोत्थितः।।।।
kuśalī yadi kākutsthaḥ kiṁ nu sāgara-mekhalām |
mahīṁ dahati kopena yugāntāgnir ivotthitaḥ ||
If the Kakutstha is indeed well, then why does he not, in anger, burn the ocean-girdled earth—like the risen fire at the end of an age?
"Indeed if Kakutstha is well wherefore does he not burn the ocean-girdled earth in his rage as (the earth is burnt) at the time of dissolution of the era?
Power must be governed by dharma: even if capable of world-consuming wrath, a righteous hero restrains destructive anger and acts with purpose.
Sītā, overwhelmed by separation, imagines Rāma’s immense power and questions why such power has not erupted against the world that holds her captive.
Rāma’s self-restraint (dama): the implied virtue is that his strength is disciplined, not indiscriminate.