Shloka 5.58.149
सुन्दरकाण्डे अष्टपञ्चाशः सर्गः — हनुमद्वृत्तान्तकथनम्, सीताभिज्ञान-प्रदानम्, लङ्कादाह-वर्णनम्
विभीषणेनैवमुक्तो रावणस्सन्दिदेश तान्।राक्षसानेतदेवास्य लाङ्गूलं दह्यतामिति।।।।
vibhīṣaṇenaivam ukto rāvaṇas sandideśa tān | rākṣasān etad evāsya lāṅgūlaṃ dahyatām iti ||
Thus addressed by Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa commanded those Rākṣasas: “Let his tail be burned—this alone.”
'On hearing Vibhishana, Ravana instructed the demons to burn my tail.
Even when dharma restrains outright killing, adharma may still seek humiliation and cruelty—showing how partial compliance without righteousness remains ethically flawed.
Rāvaṇa shifts from execution to a punitive humiliation: burning Hanumān’s tail.
Vibhīṣaṇa’s influence as a restraining voice, though Rāvaṇa still chooses a cruel penalty.