Shloka 6.96.16

युद्धाय रावणस्य निर्याणं तथा उत्पातदर्शनम् (Ravana’s Mobilization for War and the ظهور of Fatal Portents)

Devanagari script

सशरैरद्यवदनैस्सङ्ख्येवानरयूथपाः ।मण्डयिष्यन्तिवसुधांसनालैरिवपङ्कजैः ।।6.96.16।।

Transliteration

saśarair adya vadanair saṅkhye vānarayūthapāḥ | maṇḍayiṣyanti vasudhāṃ sanālair iva paṅkajaiḥ ||6.96.16||

Translation

“Today, in battle, the vānara troop-leaders—faces transfixed with arrows—will adorn the earth like lotuses still attached to their stalks,” said Rāvaṇa.

Context

"Now with the arrows fixed on their faces the Vanara battalions spread on the earth will adorn the earth like lotuses spread on earth."

Characters & Entities

• Rāvaṇa
• Vānara troop-leaders
• vasudhā (earth)
• paṅkaja/padma (lotus)
• śara (arrow)

FAQs

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

It cautions against aestheticizing violence—turning suffering into “ornament.” Dharma requires compassion and truthfulness about harm, not poetic glorification of cruelty.

What is the narrative situation?

Rāvaṇa describes the aftermath he expects to create on the battlefield, imagining fallen vānara leaders as a grim decoration of the earth.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

The implied virtue is moral sensitivity (dayā). The verse shows its opposite in Rāvaṇa’s rhetoric, thereby reinforcing the Ramayana’s ethical stance.