Shloka 6.14.17
विभीषणोपदेशः (Vibhīṣaṇa’s Counsel to Rāvaṇa and the Rākṣasa Court)
अयंचराजाव्यसनाभिभूतोमित्रैरमित्रप्रतिमैर्भवद्भि: ।अन्वास्यतेराक्षसनाशनार्थेतीक्ष्णःप्रकृत्याह्यसीक्षयकारी ।।।।
ayaṁ ca rājā vyasanābhibhūto mitrair amitra-pratimair bhavadbhiḥ | anvāsyate rākṣasa-nāśanārthe tīkṣṇaḥ prakṛtyā hy asīkṣaya-kārī ||
And this king—overpowered by vices, harsh by nature and acting without reflection—is being attended by you as ‘friends’ who resemble enemies, and thus he proceeds toward the destruction of the rākṣasas.
"This king who is by nature violent and acts without thinking about being an addict to seven vices, is destroying Rakshasas. You are also attending to him calling yourself as friends but like enemies."
A ruler enslaved by vices loses dharmic judgment; enabling such a ruler is ethically culpable, because false ‘friendship’ accelerates harm to the community.
The speaker criticizes Rāvaṇa’s court: advisers who should restrain him instead accompany his self-destructive course.
Moral courage in counsel—prioritizing truth and welfare over courtly approval.