Shloka 5.54.32
लङ्कादाहः — The Burning of Lanka (Catuḥpañcāśaḥ Sargaḥ)
युगान्तकालानलतुल्यवेग स्समारुतोऽग्निर्ववृधे दिविस्पृक्।विधूमरश्मिर्भवनेषु सक्तो रक्षश्शरीराज्यसमर्पतार्चिः।।।।
āditya-koṭī-sadṛśaḥ su-tejā laṅkāṃ samastāṃ parivārya tiṣṭhan | śabdair anekair aśani-prarūḍhair bhindann ivāṇḍaṃ prababhau mahāgniḥ ||
The great fire, radiant like ten million suns, stood encircling all of Laṅkā. With countless thunderbolt-like crashes, it blazed as though it were splitting the very shell of the world.
Fanned by the wind, inflamed by the fat from the corpses of the demons, the fire spread in the mansions burning without smoke. It spread with great speed like the fire at the end of the universe.
It presents adharma’s downfall as not merely local but cosmic in resonance: when wrongdoing reaches extremes, the correction appears world-shaking, reaffirming the primacy of moral order (ṛta/dharma).
The conflagration reaches its peak—surrounding the whole city, roaring with thunderous sounds, and shining with overwhelming brilliance.
The verse magnifies the unstoppable efficacy of Rāma’s cause as carried by Hanumān; it highlights the power that supports dharma when it is time to confront entrenched injustice.