Shloka 6.44.6
चतुश्चत्वारिंशः सर्गः (Sarga 44): निशायुद्धम्, धूलिरुधिरप्रवाहः, इन्द्रजितो मायायुद्धम्
तस्मिंस्तमसिदुष्पारेराक्षसाःक्रोधमूर्छिताः ।परिपेतुर्महावेगाभक्षयन्तःप्लवङ्गमान् ।।।।
māyayā saṃvṛtas tatra mohayan rāghavau yudhi |
adṛśyaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ kūṭayodhī niśācaraḥ ||
babandha śarabandhena bhrātarau rāmalakṣmaṇau ||
There, shrouded by sorcery and deluding the two Rāghavas in the fight, the night-stalker—an invisible, treacherous combatant to all beings—bound the brothers Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa in a net of arrows.
In that pitch darkness, which was difficult even to move, the Rakshasas overcome by anger and lost senses were wandering devouring the monkeys.
Dharma values openness and fairness; the ‘kūṭayodhī’ (treacherous fighter) represents adharma—victory sought through delusion rather than honorable engagement.
Indrajit uses māyā to become unseen, confuses the brothers in combat, and binds them with an arrow-net.
The brothers’ commitment to dharma is emphasized indirectly: even when bound by deceit, they remain the righteous center around which the moral narrative turns.