Shloka 6.21.15
सागरप्रतीक्षा-क्रोधप्रादुर्भावः (Rama’s Vigil at the Ocean and the Rise of Wrath)
आत्मप्रशंसिनंदृष्टंधृष्टंविपरिथावकम् ।सर्वत्रोत्सृष्टदण्डंचलोकस्सत्कुरुतेनरम् ।।6.21.15।।
ātmapraśaṃsinaṃ dṛṣṭaṃ dhṛṣṭaṃ viparithāvakam | sarvatrotsṛṣṭadaṇḍaṃ ca lokaḥ satkurute naram ||6.21.15||
“One sees the world honoring a man who boasts of himself—bold to the point of insolence, acting perversely, and brandishing punishment everywhere.”
"Indeed, the world treats one with respect, who praises himself, as an impudent one, an unchaste one and one who goes about with a rod of punishment (not the one who is virtuous)."
Dharma warns against confusing social approval with righteousness: society may reward arrogance and coercion, but ethical judgment must be anchored in dharma, not mere popularity.
Rāma reflects to Lakṣmaṇa on how the world often responds more quickly to forceful posturing than to quiet virtue—framing his decision to compel the ocean.
Realism in leadership—clear-eyed understanding of human/social behavior without abandoning dharma.