Shloka 6.8.23

युद्धकाण्डे अष्टमः सर्गः — राक्षससभा-युद्धपरामर्शः (War-Council Boasts and Stratagems)

Devanagari script

स्वैरंकुर्वन्तुकर्माणिभवन्तोविगतज्वराः ।।6.8.22।।एकोऽहंभक्षयिष्यामितांसर्वांहरियूथपान् ।स्वस्थाःक्रीडन्तुनिश्चिन्ताःपिबन्तुमधुवारुणीम् ।।6.8.23।।

Transliteration

svairaṃ kurvantu karmāṇi bhavanto vigatajvarāḥ |

eko’haṃ bhakṣayiṣyāmi tāṃ sarvāṃ hariyūthapān |

svasthāḥ krīḍantu niścintāḥ pibantu madhuvāruṇīm ||6.8.23||

Translation

Carry out your tasks as you please, free from anxiety. I alone will devour that entire host of monkey-chieftains. At ease, sport without worry, and drink the honey-sweet vāruṇī.

Context

All of you giving up fear, do your duties freely move happily sporting and drinking sweet wine. Single handed, I will consume all the Vanara army.

Characters & Entities

• Ravana
• Hariyuthapas (Vanara chieftains)
• Vanara army
• Madhu
• Varuni

FAQs

What does “vigatajvarāḥ” imply in this verse—literal fever or something ethical/psychological?

Though literally “free from fever,” here it functions idiomatically as “free from agitation”—fear, anxiety, and war-tension. Ravana urges his men to drop apprehension and act confidently, even indulgently.

How does this verse relate to Dharma and Satya themes in the Ramayana?

Ravana’s boast—claiming he alone will destroy the vanara leaders—shows adharmic hubris and self-deception, contrasting with the Ramayana’s dharmic ideal of truthful speech (satya) aligned with reality and responsibility. The verse highlights how arrogance and indulgence can cloud discernment, a repeated ethical warning in the epic.