Shloka 17
मकराक्षस्य निर्गमनम्
The Deployment of Makaraksha and Ravana’s Fury
प्रभ्रष्टोऽथकरात्तस्यप्रतोदस्सारथेस्तदा ।पपातसहसादैवाद्ध्वजस्तस्यतुरक्षसः ।।।।
prabhraṣṭo 'tha karāt tasya pratodaḥ sārathes tadā |
papāta sahasā daivād dhvajas tasya tu rakṣasaḥ ||
そのとき御者の手から突き棒がすべり落ち、たちまち地に落ちた。さらにその羅刹の旗印も、運命の急転によって忽ち倒れ落ちた――不吉な徴であった。
Those night rangers who resembled elephants, clouds, and buffaloes in colour, who were skilled in warfare, wounded by maces and swords, moved to and from saying" I shall fight",।। ityārṣēvālmīkīyēśrīmadrāmāyaṇēādikāvyēyuddhakāṇḍēaṣṭasaptatitamassargaḥ ।।This is the end of the seventy-eighth sarga of Yuddha Kanda of the first epic the holy Ramayana composed by sage Valmiki.
FAQs
The epic uses portents to suggest moral causality: adharma invites disorder; Dharma aligns action with a higher order (ṛta), while wrongdoing meets resistance even from fate.
As the Rakṣasa side advances, inauspicious signs appear—equipment fails and the banner falls.
The implied virtue is humility before fate and moral law—recognizing warnings and correcting course.