Shloka 6.51.16
धूम्राक्षप्रेषणम् (The Dispatch of Dhūmrākṣa)
घोरैर्दत्तवरैर्भद्धौशरैराशीविषोपमैः ।अमोघैस्सूर्यसङ्काशैःप्रमथ्येन्द्रजितायुधि ।।6.51.15।।तदस्त्रबन्धमासाद्ययदिमुक्तौरिपूमम ।संशयस्थमिदंसर्वमनुपश्याम्यहंबलम् ।।6.51.16।।
ghorair datta-varair baddhau śarair āśīviṣopamaiḥ |
amoghais sūrya-saṅkāśaiḥ pramathyendrajitā yudhi ||6.51.15||
In battle Indrajit bound them with dreadful arrows, empowered by boons—like venomous serpents, unfailing and radiant as the sun—and thus they were violently subdued.
"My enemies who are bound by the formidable and unfailing, sharp, poisonous and bright arrows like the sun of Indrajith blessed with boons, are liberated from the bondage! I doubt if my army is in danger!"
Power and boons are ethically neutral; their use defines righteousness. The verse implicitly warns that extraordinary weapons used for adharma still fail to secure lasting victory.
Rāvaṇa recalls how Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa had been bound by Indrajit’s formidable, boon-backed arrows in battle.
On the righteous side, steadfastness; on the opposing side, reliance on might and supernatural advantage—showing the tension between dharma and sheer force.