लङ्कादाह-प्रचोदनं तथा वानर-राक्षस-समरारम्भः (The Burning of Lanka and the Outbreak of Battle)
घ्नन्तमन्यंजघानान्यःपातयन्तमपातयत् ।।।।गर्हमाणंजगर्हेऽन्योदशन्तमपरोऽदशत् ।
ghnantam anyaṃ jaghānānyaḥ pātayantam apātayat | garhamāṇaṃ jagarhe 'nyo daśantam aparo 'daśat ||
One struck down another who was striking; one felled another who was felling; one abused another who was hurling abuse; and one bit another who was biting.
One struck another, who was striking the other. One threw down another who was throwing the other. One abused another reproaching contemptuously, and one bit his rival biting the other.
The verse depicts how conflict multiplies retaliation—violence and insult provoke immediate counteraction; dharma, by contrast, teaches restraint and the breaking of cycles of escalation when possible.
The battle devolves into chaotic hand-to-hand exchanges where each aggressive act is instantly met with a matching counterattack.
Endurance and quick response in combat; implicitly, it also warns against uncontrolled wrath (krodha) that fuels endless reprisal.