Shloka 5.53.8

लाङ्गूलदाह-पर्यटनम् (The Burning Tail and the Parade through Laṅkā)

Devanagari script

तैलेन परिषिच्याथ तेऽग्निं तत्राभ्यपातयन्।लाङ्गूलेन प्रदीप्तेन राक्षसांस्तानपातयत्।।5.53.8।।रोषामर्षपरीतात्मा बालसूर्यसमाननः।

Transliteration

tailena pariṣicyātha te 'gniṁ tatrābhyapātayan | lāṅgūlena pradīptena rākṣasāṁs tān apātayat || 5.53.8 || roṣāmarṣaparītātmā bālasūryasamānanaḥ |

Translation

Then they drenched it with oil and set it alight. Hanumān—his face like the rising sun, his heart filled with wrath and indignation—struck down those rākṣasas with his blazing tail.

Context

The demons soaked the tail and set fire to it. His face burning in anger shone like the rising Sun and his mind seized with indignation, he struck them with the burning tail.

Characters & Entities

• Hanumān
• Rākṣasas
• Laṅkā

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Righteous force against adharma: when violence is used to uphold a just mission (protecting Sītā’s cause and resisting tyranny), it is framed as corrective rather than cruel.

What is the narrative situation?

The rākṣasas ignite Hanumān’s oil-soaked tail; Hanumān immediately turns the punishment into a weapon, attacking his captors.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Tejas (radiant power) and audārya-in-action: intense energy directed toward dismantling adharma, not toward personal vendetta.