Shloka 6.54.38
वज्रदंष्ट्रवधः — The Slaying of Vajradaṃṣṭra (Angada’s Duel)
निहत्यतंवज्रधरप्रतापःसवालिसूनुःकपिसैन्यमध्ये ।जगामहर्षंमहितोमहाबलःसहस्रनेत्रस्त्रिदशैरिवावृतः ।।6.54.38।।
prabhinna-śirasaḥ kecic chinnaiḥ pādaiś ca bāhubhiḥ |
śastrair ardita-dehābhyo rudhireṇa samukṣitāḥ ||6.54.8||
harayo rākṣasāś caiva śerate gāṃ samāśritāḥ |
kaṅka-gṛdhra-vaḷair āḍhyāś ca gomāyu-gala-saṅkulāḥ ||6.54.9||
Some lay with shattered heads, severed feet and arms; their bodies torn by weapons and drenched in blood. Thus monkeys and rākṣasas alike lay strewn upon the earth, surrounded by crows and vultures, and crowded with packs of jackals.
Mighty son of Vali, having killed Vajradamshtra, honoured in the midst of great Vanara army was joyful surrounded like the thousand eyed Indra, the Lord of gods.।।ityārṣēvālmīkīyēśrīmadrāmāyaṇēādikāvyēyuddhakāṇḍēcatuḥpañcāśassargaḥThis is the end of the fifty fourth sarga of Yuddha Kanda of the first epic the holy Ramayana composed by sage Valmiki.
It underscores the grave cost of adharma and war: suffering and death fall on all sides. Dharma is not romanticized; it carries responsibility and painful consequence.
A grim battlefield tableau shows the dead and wounded scattered on the ground as scavengers gather.
Viveka (sobering discernment): the epic forces the reader to see war’s reality, strengthening commitment to righteous conduct that prevents needless destruction.