Shloka 23
राक्षसपरिषद्वाक्यम्
Counsel of the Rakshasa Court to Ravana
शक्तितोमरमीनंचविनिकीर्णान्त्रशैवलम् ।गजकछपसम्बाधमश्वमण्डूकसंकुलम् ।।6.7.22।।रुद्रादित्यमहाग्राहंमरुद्वसुमहोरगम् ।रथश्वगजतोयौघंपदातिपुलिनंमहत् ।।6.7.23।।अनेनहिसमासाद्यदेवानांबलसागरम् ।गृहीतोदैवतपतिर्लङ्कांचापिप्रवेशितः ।।6.7.24।।
rudrāditya-mahā-grāhaṃ marudvasu-mahōragam |
rathaśva-gaja-toyaughaṃ padāti-pulinaṃ mahat ||6.7.23||
Ce vaste océan avait pour grands crocodiles les Rudras et les Ādityas, et pour puissants serpents les Maruts et les Vasus ; ses flots déferlants étaient chars, chevaux et éléphants, et ses larges grèves de sable, les masses de fantassins.
FAQs
Dharma here is implicit through contrast: true strength is aligned with the devas’ order, yet the counselors weaponize memory of defeating them to justify adharma; the ethical lesson is that rhetoric can be used to mask wrongdoing.
The counselors continue a grand metaphor to magnify Rāvaṇa’s past prowess, attempting to remove his fear of Rāma’s advance.
The verse foregrounds martial grandeur, but the narrative emphasizes the need for viveka (discernment), which the counselors notably lack.