Shloka 24
आत्मनस्सदृशान्शूरान्किङ्करान्नाम राक्षसान्।व्यादिदेश महातेजा निग्रहार्थं हनूमतः।।5.42.24।।
ātmanas sadṛśān śūrān kiṅkarān nāma rākṣasān | vyādideśa mahātejā nigrahārthaṃ hanūmataḥ || 5.42.24 ||
Alors le puissant ordonna aux héroïques rākṣasas nommés Kiṅkaras—serviteurs guerriers d’une force égale à la sienne—de maîtriser et de saisir Hanumān.
Eighty thousand powerful kinkaras (a clan of demons), large-bellied, with large teeth and of dreadful appearance, swift in action, armed with hammers and clubs marched from there, resolved to capture Hanuman.
FAQs
Power used for unjust ends becomes adharma: command and obedience are ethically neutral only when aligned with righteousness. Here authority is deployed to suppress a messenger acting for a just cause.
Rāvaṇa responds to the disturbance by ordering his elite Kiṅkara forces to capture Hanumān.
On the opposing side, Hanumān’s steadfastness in duty is implied; on Rāvaṇa’s side, the verse highlights militarized control rather than moral governance.