Shloka 6.43.45
द्वन्द्वयुद्धप्रवृत्तिः (Dvandva-Yuddha: The Onset of Single Combats)
विदार्यमाणाहरिपुङ्गवैस्तदानिशाचराश्शोणितदिग्धगात्राः ।पुनःसुयुद्धंतरसासमास्थितादिवाकरस्यास्तमयाभिकाङ्क्षिणः ।।6.43.45।।
bhagnair khaḍagair gadābhiś ca śakti-tomara-paṭṭasaiḥ |
apaviddhaiś cābhinnaiś ca rathaiḥ sāṅgrāmikair hayaiḥ ||6.43.42||
nihatāiḥ kuñjaraiḥ matsyaiḥ tathā vānararākṣasaiḥ |
cakrākṣa-yuga-daṇḍaiś ca bhagnair dharaṇisaṃśritaiḥ ||6.43.43||
babhūva āyodhanaṃ ghoraṃ gomāyugaṇa-sevitam |
The battlefield grew dreadful—strewn with broken swords and maces, spears, javelins, and axes; with shattered and overturned chariots and war-horses; with heaps of fallen elephants, and of Vānaras and Rākṣasas; and with broken wheels, axles, and yokes scattered upon the earth—so that packs of jackals came to haunt it.
Then the Rakshasas killed by Vanara leaders, their bodies full of blood were looking for sunset and again picking up strength began to battle.।। ityārṣēvālmīkīyēśrīmadrāmāyaṇēādikāvyēyuddhakāṇḍētricatvāriṅśassargaḥ ।।This is the end of the forty third sarga of Yuddha Kanda of the first epic the holy Ramayana composed by sage Valmiki.
It highlights the ethical weight of war: even when fought for dharma, battle brings suffering and ruin, urging sobriety, restraint, and remembrance of life’s impermanence.
After intense fighting, the field is described as strewn with weapons, wreckage, and bodies, attracting scavengers.
Not a single virtue of one character, but the text’s reflective emphasis on vigilance and responsibility in the use of force.