Shloka 6.54.8
वज्रदंष्ट्रवधः — The Slaying of Vajradaṃṣṭra (Angada’s Duel)
प्रभिन्नशिरसःकेचिछचिन्नैःपादैश्चबाहुभिः ।शस्स्रैरर्दितदेहाभ्यरुधिरेणसमुक्षिताः ।।6.54.8।।हरयोराक्षसाश्चैवशेरतेगांसमाश्रिताः ।कङ्कगृध्रवळैराढ्याश्चगोमायुगलसङ्कुलाः ।।6.54.9।।
prabhinnāśirasaḥ kecic chinnaiḥ pādaiś ca bāhubhiḥ |
śastrair arditadehābhyaḥ rudhireṇa samukṣitāḥ || 6.54.8 ||
harayo rākṣasāś caiva śerate gāṃ samāśritāḥ |
kaṅkagṛdhravalair āḍhyāś ca gomāyugalasaṅkulāḥ || 6.54.9 ||
Some lay with their heads split open, their legs and arms severed; their bodies torn by weapons and drenched in blood.
There lay strewn some monkeys and Rakshasas also with severed heads, broken feet, with many weapons mangled with bodies, bathed in blood, arms and feet looped to necks devolving as prey to buzzards, vultures and crows surrounded.
It underscores the grave cost of adharma-driven conflict and the impermanence of the body; even mighty warriors fall, so righteous restraint, right cause, and responsibility in war are central to dharma.
Satya is presented as unvarnished reality: war results in suffering and death for both sides. The epic does not romanticize violence, but truthfully depicts its consequences to guide ethical reflection.