Shloka 5.46.3
षट्चत्वारिंशः सर्गः — Ravana Deploys Five Generals; Hanuman Destroys the Commanders and the Remaining Host
स विरूपाक्षयूपाक्षौ दुर्धरं चैव राक्षसम्।प्रघसं भासकर्णं च पञ्चसेनाग्रनायकान्।।5.46.2।।सन्दिदेश दशग्रीवो वीरान्नयविशारदान्।हनुमद्ग्रहणव्यग्रान्वायुवेगसमान्युधि।।5.46.3।।
sa virūpākṣayūpākṣau durdharaṃ caiva rākṣasam | praghasaṃ bhāsakarṇaṃ ca pañcasenāgranāyakān || 5.46.2 ||
sandidēśa daśagrīvo vīrān nayaviśāradān | hanumadgrahaṇavyagrān vāyuvēgasamān yudhi || 5.46.3 ||
Daśagrīva (Rāvaṇa) then commanded five foremost leaders of his army—Virūpākṣa, Yūpākṣa, Durdhara, Praghasa, and Bhāsakarṇa—heroic men skilled in strategy, eager to seize Hanumān, and in battle swift as the wind.
The tenheaded Ravana, eager to capture Hanuman, commanded his five army Generals called Virupaksha, Yupaksha, Durdhara, Praghasa and Bhaskarna, who were great warriorstatesmen valiant and, equal to wind in speed.
It highlights rāja-dharma in a negative mirror: leadership and strategy are powerful tools, but when directed toward adharma—such as defending unjust captivity and violence—they become instruments of wrongdoing rather than protection.
Rāvaṇa responds to Hanumān’s rampage in Laṅkā by dispatching five elite generals to capture him.
Strategic competence and martial readiness are emphasized in the generals; by contrast, Hanumān’s steadfast service to a righteous mission is the implicit counterpoint.