Shloka 6.55.24

अकम्पन-प्रेषणम् तथा कपि-राक्षस-रणवर्णनम् (Akampana Dispatched; The Vanara–Rakshasa Battle and Omens)

Devanagari script

ततस्तुरुधिरौघेणसिक्तंह्यपगतंरजः ।।।।शरीरशवसङ्कीर्णाबभूवचवसुन्धरा ।

Transliteration

tatas tu rudhiraughēṇa siktaṃ hy apagataṃ rajaḥ | śarīra-śava-saṅkīrṇā babhūva ca vasundharā ||

Translation

Then, drenched by torrents of blood, the dust settled and vanished; and the earth appeared strewn with bodies and severed limbs.

Context

Then moistened with blood, the dust settled on the ground was seen covered with bodies and limbs.

Characters & Entities

• earth (vasundharā)
• bodies/corpses (śarīra, śava)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

It presents the sobering truth of war’s results; Dharma in the Ramayana repeatedly insists that violence, even when necessary, carries grave human cost and must never be romanticized.

What is the narrative situation?

Blood dampens the air and ground so the dust settles, revealing the battlefield littered with corpses and body parts.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Truthfulness (satya) in depiction—seeing consequences plainly—is emphasized through the narrator’s unembellished revelation of the aftermath.