Shloka 6.55.18
अकम्पन-प्रेषणम् तथा कपि-राक्षस-रणवर्णनम् (Akampana Dispatched; The Vanara–Rakshasa Battle and Omens)
रजश्चारुणवर्णाभंसुभीममभवद् भृशम् ।।।।उद्धतंहरिरक्षोभिःसंरुरोधदिशोदश ।
rajaś cāruṇa-varṇābhaṃ subhīmam abhavad bhṛśam | uddhataṃ hari-rakṣobhiḥ saṃrurōdha diśo daśa ||
A terrifying dust-cloud, red-hued in appearance, rose up at once; churned up by the Vānaras and the Rākṣasas, it spread out and shrouded all ten directions.
Terrific dust of red colour arose instantly in all the ten directions by the Vanaras, and Rakshasas and it enveloped all over.
The verse highlights how uncontrolled violence and rage can obscure discernment; Dharma in war requires clarity and restraint, otherwise even direction and orientation (symbolically ‘the ten directions’) are lost.
The battlefield becomes engulfed in a red, terrifying dust-cloud raised by the intense clash between the Vānara forces and the Rākṣasas.
Not a single character’s virtue, but the implied wartime virtue of vigilance and self-control—without it, the battle environment itself becomes morally and practically disorienting.